Nvidia has named Colette Kress interim CEO, placing a longtime finance leader at the top of a company whose chips and computing systems have become central to the artificial intelligence boom.
The appointment followed the board’s removal of CEO Jensen Huang on Thursday, amid reports of alleged extramarital affairs. One report involved a woman said to have been accused of spying for China.
Kress, 59, has spent 13 years at Nvidia as chief financial officer and executive vice president. Forbes ranks her 32nd among America’s wealthiest self-made women, estimating her net worth at $1.2 billion. Nvidia shares she held were worth about $750 million as of Wednesday, following a decline after the leadership change.
Kress joined Nvidia in 2013 after her sons told her about the company’s standing in the video game industry. At the time, Nvidia was focused largely on gaming technology, well before it became a major force in AI computing.
She later recalled that Nvidia was the smallest company she had worked for. Before joining, she had spent nearly 25 years in finance roles at large technology firms.
In a 2023 interview, Kress said investors have a better understanding of Nvidia than they did a decade ago, when few could explain the company’s long-term vision. She described that change as a “supermarket test”: years ago, people might not have recognized the Nvidia logo on a green shirt; now, she said, more people know the company and are learning what graphics processors can do for AI.
Nvidia reported revenue of $4.13 billion in the fiscal year Kress joined. By fiscal 2026, revenue had reached $215.9 billion.
Company filings show that Kress’s compensation includes restricted stock units. A grant made in March 2026 is scheduled to vest over four years. Nvidia uses at-will employment arrangements, which allow it to end executive employment without a pre-negotiated severance payment.
Before Nvidia, Kress held finance positions across the technology sector. She spent eight years in finance roles at Texas Instruments, then worked at Microsoft from 1997 to 2010. For her final four years there, she was CFO of the Server and Tools division.
In 2010, she joined Cisco as a senior vice president and CFO in its Business Technology and Operations Finance organization. Her work included financial strategy, planning, reporting and business development.
Kress earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Arizona and an MBA from Southern Methodist University.
In a statement following her appointment as interim CEO and CFO, Kress said Nvidia’s strength came from its people. She said she would work with the leadership team to build on the foundation Huang had established over 33 years, while continuing the company’s work in accelerated computing and AI.
She added that Nvidia would remain focused on customers, partners, developers and shareholders.
