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11 names to watch in the Jensen Huang succession search

The AI giant appointed CFO Colette Kress interim CEO, replacing Jensen Huang, the company’s co-founder and longtime leader, who resigned Thursday after admitting to an affair that raised national security concerns.

✦ Extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting•From 6 sources•1 min read•Updated November 13, 2026, 2:02 PM UTC
Key points
  • Chief financial officer Colette Kress in in charge of Nvidia for now, but several others are in the frame as potential successors.
  • Jensen Huang’s resignation raises questions about Nvidia’s commitment to open source AI, including its Hugging Face acquisition, open-weight models, and advocacy against restrictions, as the company navigates a leadership transition.
  • Hugging Face's CEO pledged to keep fighting for open source AI after Huang's exit, raising questions about Nvidia's $12.9 billion acquisition.

Catch up quick: Nvidia announced Thursday that CFO Colette Kress would serve as interim CEO following Huang's departure.

Nvidia immediately named Colette Kress, the company’s chief financial officer, as the interim CEO.

Additional details
  • Nvidia’s longtime chief financial officer helped transform the company into an AI powerhouse.
  • Now she’s taking the reins following Jensen Huang’s resignation on Thursday.
  • As interim CEO, Kress must help steer Nvidia through a leadership transition at a pivotal moment for the AI industry.
  • Nvidia is the latest Fortune 500 company to name its CFO interim CEO.
  • Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images Former Apple CEO Tim Cook's name entered the succession conversation Thursday after President Trump publicly suggested he take over Nvidia.

How this summary was made: extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting. It is drawn only from the reporting of the sources listed below — read the originals for full detail. How we summarize →

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Every article behind this summary — 7 articles from 6 outlets

FortuneNovember 13, 2026, 2:02 PM UTC → The Guardian BusinessNovember 13, 2026, 3:02 AM UTC → AxiosNovember 12, 2026, 11:06 PM UTC → TechCrunchNovember 12, 2026, 6:39 PM UTC → TechCrunchNovember 12, 2026, 5:36 PM UTC → BBC BusinessNovember 12, 2026, 3:10 PM UTC → WiredNovember 12, 2026, 2:14 PM UTC →

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