Two alleged affairs, a probe, then resignation: Inside Jensen Huang's exit from Nvidia

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang resigned from his post on Thursday following revelations of two extramarital affairs, one of which allegedly involved a woman accused of spying for China. A photo shows NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang with a woman confirmed by a Reuters source to be Alice Huang in Taipei, (Via Reuters)The company’s CFO Colette Kress was appointed as interim CEO in a board meeting on Wednesday.

"NVIDIA's strength has always come from its people," she said, adding that the company's focus would remain on serving its customers, partners, developers and shareholders. As Huang, who co-founded Nvidia and is its fourth-largest investor with a stake of about 3.61%, is also set to exit the board, here's a look at the events that culminated in his resignation.

The resignation of the 63-year-old tech giant comes after The New York Times reported on November 7 his alleged affair with Alice Huang, a Chinese businesswoman whom US authorities suspect of spying for Beijing. Following the report, the company said that they are “initiating an independent investigation in light of recent reporting that CEO Jensen Huang has been the target of a foreign intelligence effort.” “A committee of independent directors, assisted by outside independent counsel, will oversee the investigation.

The Board prioritises US national and economic security, which is paramount to the interests of Nvidia and its shareholders,” it said. Jensen Huang admitted to having an affair with Alice Huang in an email to Nvidia employees on Sunday, after the company launched an internal probe.

"I was unfaithful to my wife," Jensen Huang wrote. "My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry. "Throughout my life, my family has given me love and support. They deserve my honesty and loyalty.

Instead, I let them down and damaged the life we built together. I take full responsibility for what I did and the hurt I caused, and I accept the criticism that comes with it,” he added. According to the Times report, Alice Huang had become close to Jensen Huang and was allegedly working for a Chinese spy agency.

It identified Alice Huang as an executive at the Asian tech firm Megaspeed International. US intelligence told the Trump administration that it believed the agency hired Alice Huang to collect information from Huang on behalf of Beijing’s Ministry of State Security, the report claimed.

The reports also affected Nvidia's stock. The company's shares fell about 9 per cent in after-hours trading on Wednesday, according to Bloomberg. Nvidia lost more than $300 billion in market value since news of the reported affair with Alice Huang first emerged.

Three days later, Jensen Huang was reported to have had an affair with a company executive who reported directly to him. The New York Times on Wednesday identified the executive as Kimberly Powell, Nvidia's vice president of healthcare, citing five people who had worked at the company.

Powell worked as a hardware engineer at DOME Imaging Systems from January 1999 to April 2003, according to her LinkedIn profile. She went on to join Planar Systems, Inc. Medical Business Unit, where she worked for a little over five years.

She then joined Nvidia, where she held positions as Director, WW Business Development, Higher Education & Healthcare, and Sr. Director, Artificial Intelligence Business Development, before becoming Vice President/General Manager, Healthcare at Nvidia.

Following the revelation of his alleged affairs, the Nvidia Corp board met on Wednesday to decide Huang's future at the company. The chipmaker's board of directors appointed Colette Kress, its current executive vice president and chief financial officer, as interim CEO.

Kress will continue to serve as executive vice president and CFO alongside her interim role until a permanent successor is appointed.