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TL;DR
Nvidia’s board says it is still choosing a search firm and has not formally engaged candidates to replace founder Jensen Huang. CFO Colette Kress is interim CEO, while the board has not set a public timeline for a permanent appointment.
Nvidia’s board said it is still selecting a search firm and has not formally engaged any potential candidates to replace founder Jensen Huang, who resigned two days earlier. The company named Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress interim CEO and appointed longtime director Harvey C. Jones as its first board chair, while offering no public timetable for a permanent successor.
In a statement reported by CNBC on Friday, November 13, the board 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 internal or external candidates was premature. The board’s account describes a search still being organized, rather than a formally launched candidate process.
Nvidia’s November 12 press release and Form 8-K say Kress will serve as interim CEO while retaining her CFO role until a permanent successor is named. The filing says the board appointed her while it conducts a search. Jones, a director since 1993, became chair. In an employee email cited by CNBC, Jones said Kress was “a key architect of NVIDIA’s growth and capital strategy.”
The board’s statement followed reports and public suggestions about possible successors. The Financial Times reported that Nvidia’s board approached Arm CEO Rene Haas, citing people familiar with the matter, according to Reuters. Arm declined to comment, and Reuters said it could not independently verify the report. Separately, President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that “there is only one man to take his place – TIM COOK of Apple,” as quoted by Reuters and Fox Business. Nvidia’s board had not commented on Trump’s suggestion in the material reviewed.
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
A Search That Could Shape Nvidia’s Leadership
The appointment matters because Nvidia is beginning a CEO succession process at a company whose public identity and leadership have been closely associated with its founder. Kress’s interim role provides a named executive in charge while the board organizes a permanent search, but the company has not said whether the eventual leader will come from inside Nvidia or outside it.
For customers and business partners, the immediate signal from Nvidia is continuity. The company says operations, customer commitments and the product roadmap will continue without interruption. That is a company assurance, not a detailed account of how individual decisions or reporting lines will work during the interim period. The leadership transition is relevant across Nvidia’s business relationships, but the available information does not establish any change to products, delivery plans or customer agreements.
The appointment also draws attention to the board’s role. Choosing the next CEO is its responsibility, and the board’s statement indicates it wants candidate discussion treated cautiously while it sets up the search. Public names and political recommendations may fuel attention, but none establishes who will be considered, selected or willing to take the role.
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Interim Roles and Search Process
Nvidia announced Huang’s resignation and the interim arrangement on November 12. Its press release called Jones the board’s first-ever chair; the Form 8-K says he has served as a director since 1993. Kress has been Nvidia’s CFO since September 2013, according to the source material. The filings and release state that she will hold both roles until a permanent successor is named.
The board’s Friday account differs in timing from an earlier report. TechCrunch wrote on November 11, citing Bloomberg, that Nvidia was working with an outside firm to identify possible replacements for Huang. The sources available here do not explain how that report relates to the board’s later statement that it was still selecting a search firm. One possible distinction is between early work identifying names and formally engaging a firm to run a search, but Nvidia has not confirmed that explanation.
Kress held a meeting with senior executives on Thursday, according to a person familiar with the matter cited by CNBC. Her email to employees, also reported by CNBC, said staff would hear more from leadership and named November 18 at 9 a.m. Pacific for a company meeting. Nvidia’s third-quarter results were scheduled for November 17 at about 1:20 p.m. Pacific, followed by an earnings call at 2 p.m., according to the company’s stated schedule.
“Any speculation regarding individual candidates, whether internal or external, is premature.”
— Nvidia’s board, in a statement reported by CNBC on November 13
Candidate Names Remain Unconfirmed
The board has not published a list of candidates or a timeline for naming a permanent CEO. The reported approach to Haas remains a media report attributed to people familiar with the matter; Arm declined to comment, and Reuters said it could not independently verify it. Trump’s public preference for Apple executive chairman Tim Cook is a suggestion, not evidence that Nvidia’s board has approached him or is considering him.
It is also unclear how the earlier Bloomberg report, cited by TechCrunch, about an outside firm identifying possible replacements fits with the board’s statement that it was still selecting a search firm. The available sources do not establish whether any preliminary candidate work occurred, who might conduct the formal search, or what process the board will use to decide. No public timeline for a permanent appointment was given.
The company’s assurances of operational continuity do not spell out how authority will be divided between Kress, Jones and other executives during the interim period. The source material also does not establish whether Kress is herself a candidate for the permanent role.
Earnings and Employee Meeting Ahead
The next scheduled public milestone is Nvidia’s third-quarter results on November 17, with results expected at approximately 1:20 p.m. Pacific and an earnings call at 2 p.m., according to the company’s schedule. A company meeting for employees is set for November 18 at 9 a.m. Pacific, according to Kress’s email as reported by CNBC. The timing means the results and earnings call are scheduled before the employee meeting.
Those events may provide further information about how interim leadership is communicating with investors and staff, but the sources do not say that Nvidia will announce a search firm or CEO candidates at either event. The next concrete step identified by the board is selecting a search firm. Until it provides more information, the permanent succession process remains open-ended.
Key Questions
Who is Nvidia’s CEO now?
Colette Kress, Nvidia’s CFO, is serving as interim CEO. The company says she will retain the CFO role until a permanent successor is named.
Has Nvidia started interviewing CEO candidates?
The board said it was selecting a search firm and had not formally engaged potential candidates as of its November 13 statement. It has not disclosed an interview schedule.
Is Rene Haas confirmed as a candidate?
No. The Financial Times reported that Nvidia’s board approached the Arm CEO, but Arm declined to comment and Reuters said it could not independently verify the report. Nvidia has not confirmed Haas as a candidate.
When will Nvidia name a permanent CEO?
No public appointment timeline has been given. The board said it was still selecting a search firm.
What happens next at Nvidia?
Nvidia’s scheduled third-quarter results are due November 17, followed by a company meeting on November 18. The board’s stated next step in the CEO process is selecting a search firm; it has not said when that firm or any candidates will be announced.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
