🔍 Read the full analysis: Nvidia CEO Search: Key Questions About The Board’s Next Move on ThorstenMeyerAI.com
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TL;DR
Nvidia CFO Colette Kress is serving as interim CEO while board chair Harvey C. Jones leads a search for a permanent successor to founder Jensen Huang. The board says it is selecting a search firm and has not formally engaged candidates; reports and public suggestions about possible replacements remain unconfirmed.
Nvidia’s board is selecting a search firm for the company’s permanent CEO search and says it has not formally engaged candidates, after founder Jensen Huang resigned and CFO Colette Kress became interim CEO. The board’s Friday, November 13 statement leaves reported names and public suggestions unconfirmed, while putting Kress in charge during a leadership change at one of the world’s most influential chipmakers.
Nvidia’s November 12 press release and regulatory filing say Kress, the company’s CFO since September 2013, agreed to serve as interim chief executive while continuing as executive vice president and CFO. She will remain in both roles until a permanent successor is named. The filing describes her appointment as taking place while the board conducts its CEO search.
The board also named director Harvey C. Jones as chair, a role Nvidia’s press release called its first-ever board chair position. Jones has served on the board since 1993. In an email to employees reported by CNBC, he said directors asked Kress to take the interim role while they consider both internal and external candidates, and described her as “a key architect of NVIDIA’s growth and capital strategy.”
The board’s statement to CNBC, also reported by Reuters, said: “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.” Nvidia has not announced a timetable for naming a permanent CEO.
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 the CEO Search
The immediate question for customers, employees and business partners is whether Nvidia’s operations and plans will remain steady while directors look for a permanent chief executive. The company has said that operations, customer commitments and the product roadmap will continue without interruption. That is Nvidia’s stated position; the available reporting does not provide independent evidence about how the leadership change will affect particular products or customer agreements.
The search also matters because Huang’s role has been closely associated with Nvidia’s leadership and public direction. Reuters reported that some analysts expect a move toward a more institutional leadership structure. That is an analyst expectation, not a decision announced by the company. The board has said it is considering internal and external candidates, leaving open whether the next CEO will come from within Nvidia or outside it.
Near-term public attention will focus on whether Kress addresses leadership continuity during the company’s scheduled results and employee meeting. Investors and partners may look to those appearances for information about strategy and governance, but the company has not said that either event will produce an update on the search.
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How Nvidia Reached This Interim Setup
The sequence began with Huang’s resignation, followed by Nvidia’s November 12 announcement of Kress as interim CEO and Jones as board chair. The company’s press release says the board will consider internal and external candidates. Its subsequent statement, reported November 13, says directors are still selecting a search firm and have not formally engaged candidates.
There are reports that appear to describe different stages of the process. TechCrunch wrote on November 11, citing Bloomberg, that Nvidia was working with an outside firm to identify possible replacements. The board later said it was in the process of selecting a search firm. The sources available do not explain the difference. It is possible that preliminary candidate identification and formally hiring a firm are separate steps, but that interpretation has not been confirmed by Nvidia.
Names have surfaced from separate sources, but none is a confirmed nominee. The Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that Nvidia’s board approached Arm CEO Rene Haas. Reuters said it could not independently verify the report; Arm declined to comment. The Financial Times also reported there was no guarantee Haas would be offered the role or accept it.
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. Trump’s statement is a public suggestion, not evidence that Nvidia’s board has considered or approached him. The board has not commented on it in the cited reports.
“We have not formally engaged any potential candidates.”
— Nvidia’s board, in a statement reported by CNBC on November 13
Candidates and Search Timing Remain Open
The board has not disclosed which search firm it may select, when it expects to complete that process or when a permanent CEO might be named. It has also not identified any candidate as formally engaged. The reported approach to Haas remains unverified by Reuters, and Trump’s suggestion of Cook does not establish that Nvidia’s directors have approached him.
The earlier report that Nvidia was working with an outside firm is not reconciled with the board’s later statement that it is still selecting a search firm. The available sources do not say whether the reports refer to different firms, different stages, or a change in process. Nor have the sources established whether a particular internal executive is being considered.
Operationally, Nvidia says customer commitments and its product roadmap will continue without interruption. Further details about the transition, the board’s selection process and any effect on company plans have not been provided in the cited material.
Results and Employee Meeting Ahead
Nvidia is scheduled to report its third-quarter results on November 17 at approximately 1:20 p.m. Pacific time, followed by an earnings call at 2 p.m. PT, according to the company. The results are scheduled to proceed as previously planned. The company has not said whether Kress will use the call to discuss the CEO search or provide a timeline.
Kress told employees in an email, reported by CNBC, that the company will hold a meeting on November 18 at 9 a.m. PT. The meeting follows the earnings report, but no agenda or search update has been announced. The next confirmed step in the search is the board’s selection of a search firm; the timing of that decision and the appointment of a permanent CEO remain unknown.
Key Questions
Who is Nvidia’s interim CEO?
Colette Kress, Nvidia’s chief financial officer, is serving as interim CEO while continuing as CFO. The company says she will hold both roles until a permanent successor is named.
Has Nvidia formally started interviewing candidates?
The board said it is selecting a search firm and has not formally engaged any potential candidates. It has not announced interviews or a candidate list.
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 it.
Did Nvidia say Tim Cook is being considered?
No. President Donald Trump publicly suggested Apple executive chairman Tim Cook, but Nvidia’s board has not said that it approached or is considering him.
When could Nvidia name a permanent CEO?
No public timetable has been announced. Nvidia’s next scheduled milestones are its November 17 results and a company meeting on November 18; neither has been identified as a date for announcing a permanent successor.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
