Colette Kress, a longtime Nvidia executive, was appointed by the board of directors as the interim chief executive officer.
In a note to Nvidia employees on Thursday, Ms. Kress said she believes “deeply in this company” and each of its employees. “This company has achieved so much because of the work that all of you bring to it every single day,” she said.
Nvidia veteran: Ms. Kress, the company’s chief financial officer, joined Nvidia in 2013. She has worked closely with Mr. Huang as the company transitioned from a niche maker of graphics processors used for video games to a company at the center of the artificial intelligence boom. She previously worked for Cisco and Microsoft. She has an undergraduate degree in finance from the University of Arizona and a M.B.A. from Southern Methodist University. She will remain the company’s finance chief while serving as interim chief executive.
Closeness to Jensen Huang: Mr. Huang interviewed 22 candidates before hiring Ms. Kress as chief financial officer. At the time, Ms. Kress’s young sons, who were avid gamers, encouraged her to join Nvidia. During her first week on the job, Ms. Kress asked Mr. Huang how long he thought he would want her in the role. “I said, ‘For as long as we shall live and death do us part,’” Mr. Jensen said in a podcast appearance this year.
China: During her time as chief financial officer, Ms. Kress expressed concerns about the financial impact of American policies that restrict Nvidia sales to China. In 2023, she said on a call with financial analysts that China accounted for 20 to 25 percent of the company’s data center revenue. In addition to lost sales, she has said the policies risk strengthening Nvidia’s competitors in China.
Liaison to Wall Street: As chief financial officer, one of Ms. Kress’s main responsibilities was communicating with Wall Street and Nvidia’s investors. On quarterly earnings calls, Ms. Kress delivered a rosy message as Nvidia’s revenue and stock price soared. In 2013, Nvidia’s sales were $4.28 billion. In the most recent fiscal year, its annual sales reached $215.9 billion.
Personal Wealth: Ms. Kress has benefited from Nvidia’s skyrocketing stock price. She owned roughly 4.44 million shares, according to Nvidia’s most recent annual report, worth about $772 million.