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TL;DR
Nvidia has named CFO Colette Kress interim CEO and appointed Harvey C. Jones as its first board chair following Jensen Huang’s resignation. The board says it is selecting a search firm and has not formally engaged potential candidates; reports about possible successors remain unconfirmed.
Nvidia has named CFO Colette Kress interim chief executive and Harvey C. Jones its first board chair after founder Jensen Huang resigned, but the board says it has not formally engaged any CEO candidates. As of November 14, it was still selecting a search firm, leaving the succession process open while the company prepares to report quarterly results next week.
Nvidia’s November 12 press release and securities filing say Kress will serve as interim CEO while continuing as chief financial officer until a permanent successor is named. The board said it will consider both internal and external candidates. Jones, a director since 1993, was appointed chair; the company described the role as its first-ever board chair.
On Friday, November 13, the board told CNBC, in a statement also reported by Reuters: “We are in the process of selecting a search firm for the Nvidia CEO role.” It added, “We have not formally engaged any potential candidates,” and said speculation about individual candidates was premature. Those statements are the clearest public account of the formal search’s current stage.
The names circulating publicly have different evidentiary status. 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 Arm declined to comment. The report said Haas was among several candidates, with no guarantee he would receive or accept an offer. Separately, President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that “there is only one man to take his place – TIM COOK of Apple,” according to Reuters and Fox Business. Cook is Apple’s executive chairman. Nvidia has not publicly responded to that suggestion in the cited reports.
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 a CEO Search
The succession matters because Nvidia’s leadership change comes as the company continues to manage customer commitments and its product roadmap. The board has said operations, customer commitments and the roadmap will continue without interruption. That is the company’s assurance; the longer-term question is how a permanent CEO will lead the business after Huang’s departure.
Huang’s role as founder and chief executive made the succession unusually consequential for employees, customers and business partners. Reuters reported that some analysts expect a move from Huang’s hands-on approach toward a more institutional leadership structure. That is analysis, not an announced plan. The board has not described what leadership model it wants, and it has not identified a preferred candidate.
The timing also puts investors and employees in front of different forums. Nvidia’s results are scheduled for November 17, with an earnings call afterward; the employee meeting is set for November 18. The company’s near-term communications may provide more information about operating priorities, but neither meeting has been announced as a milestone for naming a permanent CEO.
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How Nvidia Set Up Succession
The company’s November 12 announcement established the interim arrangement and said the board would conduct a search covering internal and external candidates. Kress has been Nvidia’s CFO since September 2013, according to the company filing. The filing says the board appointed her while it searches for a new chief executive.
Jones’s appointment changed the board’s structure at the same time. He has served as a director since 1993 and has been managing partner of Square Wave Ventures, described in the filing as a private family office, since 2004. In an employee email obtained by CNBC, Jones called Kress “a key architect of NVIDIA’s growth and capital strategy.”
There is a discrepancy between the board’s current account of the search and an earlier report. TechCrunch wrote on November 11, citing Bloomberg, that Nvidia was working with an outside firm to identify potential replacements for Huang. On November 13, the board said it was still selecting a search firm. The available sources do not explain the difference; the earlier work and a formally engaged search firm may refer to separate steps, but that interpretation has not been confirmed by 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 to CNBC reported November 13
Candidate Names Remain Unconfirmed
No permanent successor has been named, and Nvidia has not publicly set a deadline for the search. The board says it has not formally engaged potential candidates, while the reported approach to Haas has not been independently verified by Reuters. Arm declined to comment, and the board has not confirmed the report.
Trump’s reference to Apple executive chairman Tim Cook is a public suggestion; the cited sources do not show that Nvidia’s board has considered or contacted him. The board has not commented on the suggestion. It is also unclear whether the earlier report of an outside firm identifying possible candidates describes preliminary work separate from the search firm the board says it is now selecting.
The sources reviewed for this account do not establish how many candidates are being considered, what criteria the board will use, or whether Kress might be considered for the permanent role. Nor is there a confirmed timetable for further announcements.
Earnings Before Employee Meeting
Nvidia has scheduled its third-quarter results for Tuesday, November 17, at about 1:20 p.m. Pacific Time, followed by an earnings call at 2 p.m. Pacific, according to the company. Kress told staff that an employee meeting is planned for November 18 at 9 a.m. Pacific. Those are the next announced opportunities for company leadership to address business performance and employees.
Kress wrote in her employee email, published by CNBC, “You will hear more from leadership in the coming days about our future together.” The company has not said that the meeting will include a CEO-search update. The next confirmed steps in the succession process are the board’s selection of a search firm and its eventual decision on a permanent leader; no dates for either have been made public.
Key Questions
Who is Nvidia’s CEO now?
Colette Kress is interim CEO and will continue as CFO until a permanent successor is named, according to Nvidia’s November 12 announcement and filing.
Has Nvidia hired a search firm?
Not according to the board’s November 13 statement. It said it was in the process of selecting a search firm and had not formally engaged potential candidates.
Is Rene Haas confirmed as a candidate?
No. The Financial Times reported that Nvidia approached Arm CEO Rene Haas, citing people familiar with the matter. Nvidia has not confirmed the report, and Reuters said it could not independently verify it.
Did Nvidia consider Tim Cook for the role?
Donald Trump publicly suggested Apple executive chairman Tim Cook, but that is not confirmation of a candidacy. The cited sources do not establish that Nvidia’s board contacted or considered him.
When will Nvidia next address employees and investors?
Nvidia’s third-quarter results are scheduled for November 17, with an employee meeting planned for November 18 at 9 a.m. Pacific. The company has not said whether the employee meeting will include a search update.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
