The Wall Street Journal reported on November 11 that Nvidia's board is preparing to oust founder and CEO Jensen Huang and could meet as soon as Wednesday to decide his future. Nvidia has not commented. The report follows a New York Times story about a second relationship, this one with an executive who reports to him. Earnings are due November 17.
Nvidia’s board is preparing to remove founder and CEO Jensen Huang, The Wall Street Journal reported on November 11, citing unnamed sources. The board planned to meet as soon as Wednesday, November 11, to decide his future, according to the Journal’s report as summarized by The Verge and Techmeme. Nvidia has not confirmed it. As of 7 p.m. Eastern on November 11, Huang is still CEO and the company’s newsroom carries no new statement.
This is a single-outlet report from unnamed sources. Treat it as unconfirmed until Nvidia or its board says something on the record.
What the Journal reported
- The board is preparing to oust Huang.
- Directors planned to meet as soon as November 11 to determine his future.
- The move follows a New York Times report the same day about a second extramarital relationship, this one with an Nvidia vice president who reports to him.
We could not read the Journal’s story in full. The points above are the ones The Verge and Techmeme attribute to it. The Verge says Nvidia did not immediately respond to its request for comment. Tom’s Hardware says Nvidia did not respond to its request either.
What the Times reported about a second relationship
According to Tom’s Hardware, the Times cited five unnamed sources inside Nvidia. Tom’s Hardware adds that the Times pointed to Nvidia’s code of conduct, which lists personal relationships as a possible conflict of interest. Neither Huang nor Nvidia has confirmed this account. We are not naming the executive while the claim rests on anonymous sourcing.
The difference from last week matters to a board. The first relationship involved an outside executive at a customer and raised a national security question. This one, if accurate, involves a direct report, which is a workplace conduct question that company policy covers directly. Tom’s Hardware notes the precedent: Intel CEO Brian Krzanich resigned in 2018 over a past relationship with an employee that broke company policy.
What Nvidia has confirmed so far
Three statements are on the record, all on Nvidia’s newsroom:
- November 8: the board opened an independent investigation into reporting that Huang was the target of a foreign intelligence effort, and said it had confidence in him. Huang emailed employees the same day and admitted he was unfaithful to his wife. We covered both in our story on the board’s probe.
- November 10: the independent directors said they retained Joon H. Kim, a former acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and his firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to run that investigation.
- Earnings date: Nvidia will report third-quarter results on Tuesday, November 17, with a call at 5 p.m. Eastern.
None of the three mentions a second relationship or any plan to change the CEO. If the Journal is right, the board would be acting before its own outside counsel reports back, a point The Verge also makes.
What to do
- If you buy or run Nvidia hardware, do nothing today. No product, price, driver or supply change has been announced. A CEO change does not alter chips already in the channel.
- If your roadmap depends on Nvidia allocation, watch for two documents. A board statement on the newsroom would come first. A CEO departure or appointment also has to be disclosed to the SEC on a Form 8-K within four business days.
- If you hold the stock, expect a rough open either way. A confirmed removal and a firm denial both move the price. The November 17 call is the first scheduled moment when analysts can ask questions.
- Do not act on the personal details. They come from anonymous sources and have no bearing on what you should buy.
A removal would land six days before earnings with no named successor
This part is our inference. Huang has run Nvidia since he co-founded it in 1993, and Bloomberg reported in January that the company lacks a clear successor. Removing him this week would put a new or interim chief in front of investors on November 17, one day before the closed-door House briefing that three committee chairs requested for November 18. That is a hard week to hand anyone.
It would also change what the board’s investigation is for. On November 8 the directors said they had confidence in Huang while outside counsel looked at the intelligence question. Acting three days later would mean the conduct question alone was enough, whatever the investigation finds.
For readers who build on Nvidia GPUs, the product risk is still small in the short term, because chip roadmaps are set years ahead. The larger exposure is the same one we flagged on Sunday: export policy. A leadership change in the middle of a congressional inquiry into China chip licensing gives lawmakers more reason to tighten customer checks, and that is what would change allocation and lead times.
We will update this story when Nvidia or its board makes a statement.