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TL;DR
Nvidia CFO Colette Kress is serving as interim CEO after founder Jensen Huang resigned, while director Harvey C. Jones has become the board’s first chair. The board says it is still selecting a search firm and has not formally engaged potential candidates; reports and public suggestions about possible successors remain unconfirmed.
Nvidia’s board is searching for a permanent chief executive after founder Jensen Huang resigned, but it has not yet hired a search firm or formally engaged candidates, the company said Friday. Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress is serving as interim CEO, while long-time director Harvey C. Jones has become the board’s first chair, putting both current leadership and the succession process under scrutiny at the chipmaker.
In a statement reported by CNBC on Friday, November 13, the board said it was “in the process of selecting a search firm for the Nvidia CEO role.” It added: “We have not formally engaged any potential candidates.” The board also warned that “any speculation regarding individual candidates, whether internal or external, is premature.” Nvidia’s November 12 announcement said the search would consider both internal and external candidates.
Kress will remain CFO while serving as interim CEO, according to Nvidia’s press release and a Form 8-K filing. She has held the finance role since September 2013. The filing says the board appointed her while it searches for a new CEO. Jones, a director since 1993, was named chair on the same day. Nvidia’s release describes him as its first-ever board chair.
Names have surfaced in reports and public comments, but none has been confirmed as a candidate by Nvidia. The Financial Times reported that the board approached Arm CEO Rene Haas, citing people familiar with the matter, Reuters reported. The FT said Haas was one of several possible candidates, and that there was no guarantee he would be offered the job or accept it. Arm declined to comment, and Reuters said it could not independently verify the report. President Donald Trump separately suggested Apple executive chairman Tim Cook in a Truth Social post. Nvidia’s board has not publicly endorsed that suggestion.
Nvidia CEO succession · Nov 11–18, 2026
From resignation to a search with no candidate on record
What Nvidia has confirmed, what is only reported or suggested, and the next dates.
Where the search stands (schematic)
- Resignation acceptedNov 11, per Nvidia’s 8-K
- Interim leadershipKress is interim CEO and stays CFO; Jones is the first Chair
- Search firmBeing selected, the board said on Nov 13
- CandidatesNone formally engaged, per the board; names so far are only reported or suggested
- Permanent CEONo timeline given
donein progress or reportedopen
Step by step, with the source for each
- Nov 11Nvidia, 8-K: the board accepts Huang’s resignation as President, CEO and director
- Nov 12Nvidia: Kress interim CEO and still CFO; Jones first-ever Chair; search for internal and external candidates
- Nov 12Suggested: Trump on Truth Social names Apple’s Tim Cook, as quoted by Fox Business and Reuters
- Nov 12Staff email: Kress announces a company meeting, as published by CNBC
- Nov 13Reported: the FT says the board approached Arm CEO Rene Haas, via Reuters. Arm: no comment
- Nov 13Board, to CNBC: “in the process of selecting a search firm”
- Nov 17Nvidia: third-quarter results at about 1:20 p.m. PT, call at 2 p.m. PT
- Nov 18Staff email: company meeting at 9 a.m. PT
Sources: Nvidia newsroom, “NVIDIA Announces CEO Transition” (Nov 12, 2026); Nvidia Form 8-K filed Nov 12, 2026 (SEC EDGAR); board statement to CNBC and Kress’s email to staff as published by CNBC (Nov 12 and 13, 2026); Financial Times report as published by Reuters (Nov 13, 2026); Trump’s Truth Social post as quoted by Fox Business and Reuters (Nov 12, 2026). The track is a schematic, not an official Nvidia process.
Animation: Powered by Thorsten Meyer AI
Leadership During Nvidia’s CEO Search
The succession matters because Nvidia’s chief executive leads a company whose chips and computing systems are central to many customers’ artificial-intelligence plans. A change at the top can affect how the company sets priorities, communicates its product roadmap and manages relationships with customers and partners. Nvidia has said its operations, customer commitments and product roadmap continue without interruption; that is the company’s assurance, not a detailed account of how responsibilities will be divided during the search.
The question is also whether the company will preserve the leadership approach associated with Huang or adopt a different structure. Reuters reported that some analysts expect a move toward “a more institutional leadership structure.” That is an interpretation attributed to analysts, not a decision announced by Nvidia. Until the board names a permanent chief executive or explains the interim arrangement in greater detail, the extent of any operational or strategic shift remains unknown.
For customers, suppliers and employees, the immediate test is continuity: whether product and business plans proceed as stated while leadership changes. For shareholders and other market observers, the scheduled results and company meeting will provide early opportunities to hear from Nvidia’s leaders, but neither event is known to be the deadline for the board’s choice.
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Interim Roles and Search Timeline
Nvidia announced Huang’s resignation and the interim appointments on November 12. Its press release and Form 8-K set out Kress’s dual role and Jones’s appointment as chair. Jones’s experience on the board dates to 1993, while Kress has led Nvidia’s finance function since 2013. The board said it would consider candidates from inside and outside the company, but has not published a timetable for completing the search.
The reported status of outside search work has varied. TechCrunch wrote on November 11, citing Bloomberg, that Nvidia was working with an outside firm to identify potential replacements. Two days later, the board said it was still selecting a search firm. The available reports do not explain whether those descriptions refer to different stages of the process or reflect a change in plans; Nvidia has not clarified the difference in the material cited here.
Nvidia’s third-quarter results are scheduled for November 17 at about 1:20 p.m. Pacific time, followed by an earnings call at 2 p.m., according to the company. Kress told employees in an email, reported by CNBC, that a company meeting was planned for November 18 at 9 a.m. Pacific time. The earnings release was previously scheduled, according to Nvidia.
“We are in the process of selecting a search firm for the Nvidia CEO role. We have not formally engaged any potential candidates.”
— Nvidia’s board, in a statement reported by CNBC on November 13
Candidate Reports Remain Unconfirmed
Nvidia has not released a list of candidates, named a search firm or given a public deadline for selecting a permanent CEO. The board says it has not formally engaged potential candidates. The reported approach to Haas has not been independently verified by Reuters, and Arm declined to comment. Trump’s endorsement of Cook is a public suggestion, not evidence that Cook is under consideration or wants the role.
The differing accounts about whether Nvidia was already working with an outside firm also remain unresolved. The available information does not establish whether an earlier effort was informal, whether it involved a different firm or whether the process changed. It is also not clear how long Kress is expected to serve as interim CEO, how duties will be divided among executives, or whether Nvidia plans to provide an update at either upcoming event.
Earnings and Employee Meeting Ahead
The next scheduled public milestone is Nvidia’s third-quarter results on November 17, followed by an earnings call. The company has also scheduled an employee meeting for November 18. These are the next opportunities for leaders to address operations and the transition, but Nvidia has not said that either will include an update on the CEO search.
Readers should watch for a formal announcement naming the search firm, clarification of the candidate process, or a board decision on a permanent successor. Until Nvidia provides those details, Kress remains interim CEO and the public names associated with the search should be treated as reports or suggestions rather than confirmed finalists.
Key Questions
Who is Nvidia’s interim CEO?
Colette Kress, Nvidia’s chief financial officer since September 2013, is interim CEO. The company says she will remain CFO while serving in the interim role, until a permanent successor is named.
Has Nvidia hired a search firm?
As of the board’s November 13 statement, Nvidia was still selecting a search firm. The board said it had not formally engaged potential candidates.
Is Rene Haas confirmed as a candidate?
No. The Financial Times reported that Nvidia’s board approached Arm CEO Rene Haas, citing people familiar with the matter. Reuters said it could not independently verify the report, and Nvidia has not confirmed Haas as a candidate.
Did Nvidia endorse Donald Trump’s suggestion of Tim Cook?
No endorsement has been reported. Trump suggested Apple executive chairman Tim Cook in a Truth Social post, but Nvidia’s board has not publicly commented on that suggestion in the cited reports.
When will Nvidia provide its next updates?
Nvidia has scheduled third-quarter results for November 17 and an employee meeting for November 18. The company has not said whether either event will include news about the CEO search.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
