Nvidia announced on Thursday that Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress will take over as interim CEO, placing the longtime finance executive at the helm of the dominant AI chipmaker following the abrupt departure of co-founder Jensen Huang.
The leadership shakeup comes after Nvidia’s board ousted Huang amid reports of two extramarital affairs, including one with a woman alleged to be a Chinese spy.
A Decade-Long Tenure Kress has served as Nvidia’s executive vice president and CFO since September 2013, frequently appearing alongside Huang during the company’s quarterly earnings calls. During her tenure, Nvidia experienced historic growth, with annual revenue surging from $4.13 billion in the fiscal year she joined to $215.9 billion in fiscal 2026.
Background and Career Before joining Nvidia—which she told Fortune in 2024 was the smallest company she had ever worked for at the time—Kress spent nearly 25 years in senior finance roles across major technology firms:
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Texas Instruments: Held various finance positions over an eight-year span.
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Microsoft (1997–2010): Rose to become CFO of the Server and Tools division in 2006, overseeing financial strategy, planning, and reporting.
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Cisco (2010–2013): Served as senior vice president and CFO of its Business Technology and Operations Finance organization, managing financial strategy and business development.
Kress holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Arizona and an MBA from Southern Methodist University.
Compensation and Wealth According to Nvidia’s proxy statements, executive officers are employed at will and do not have individual employment, severance, or change-in-control agreements. Kress’s compensation includes restricted stock units, featuring a March 2026 award set to vest over four years.
Ranked No. 32 on Forbes’ 2026 list of America’s richest self-made women, Kress holds Nvidia shares valued at roughly $750 million as of Wednesday’s market close—down from over $1 billion during the stock’s peak last month.–source; online