WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
  • Nvidia’s board is reportedly preparing to remove CEO Jensen Huang, with directors expected to meet as soon as Wednesday.
  • Five former Nvidia workers said Huang had an extramarital relationship with health care vice president Kimberly Powell, who reports directly to him.
  • Huang owns about 3.6% of Nvidia, had roughly 60 direct reports, and has said he does not believe in succession planning.
  • Huang’s daughter appears on Polymarket’s leaderboard of potential successors, though his possible replacement remains unclear.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is facing a reported boardroom revolt as allegations about another extramarital relationship add to a scandal already involving a woman suspected of being a Chinese spy. The Wall Street Journal reports that directors are preparing to remove Huang as chief executive.

Five people who worked at Nvidia and spoke on condition of anonymity said Huang had an extramarital relationship with Kimberly Powell, the company’s vice president of health care. The relationship had not previously been reported.

The New York Times reports that Powell reports directly to Huang within Nvidia’s corporate structure. The allegation emerged soon after Huang admitted having an affair with a woman suspected of being a Chinese spy.

Two former Nvidia workers said Huang and Powell were seen being affectionate at a hotel in San Jose, California, during the company’s GTC developer conference in March. Three people briefed on the episode said a bystander captured the interaction on a phone.

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According to those accounts, Huang’s security detail noticed the recording and pulled the bystander aside. The security personnel then offered the person a nondisclosure agreement to sign, the people said.

Huang was reached by phone Wednesday and asked about his relationship with Powell. He replied, “I don’t think you should be talking to me directly.”

Powell joined Nvidia in 2008 and oversees programs applying the company’s chip technology to higher education and health care, according to Nvidia’s website. Her work has included a focus on medical imaging devices.

Her LinkedIn profile says she was promoted to senior director of artificial intelligence business development in 2016. By late 2017, she had become Nvidia’s vice president of health care.

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Huang cofounded Nvidia in 1993 and has led the company ever since. Now, according to the Wall Street Journal, Nvidia’s board is preparing to remove him, with directors expected to meet as soon as Wednesday.

Corporate relationships between chief executives and direct reports have ended prominent careers before. Brian Krzanich resigned as Intel’s chief executive in 2018 after acknowledging what he described as a “past consensual relationship” with an employee.

McDonald’s removed Steve Easterbrook as chief executive in 2019 after learning that he had violated company policy by maintaining sexual relationships with multiple employees. The company later sued him.

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It remains unclear who would succeed Huang if Nvidia’s board removes him. Huang is the company’s largest shareholder, owning about 3.6% of Nvidia, and he had roughly 60 direct reports.

Huang has said that he does not believe in succession planning, a position that could complicate the company’s search for a replacement. Nvidia’s latest proxy statement also addressed the importance of retaining its established executive leadership.

The proxy statement warned that Nvidia is “highly dependent on the services of our longstanding executive team.” It added that losing members of that team could “hinder our strategic planning, execution, and long-term success.”

Huang’s daughter has surfaced as one possible replacement. Her name appears on Polymarket’s leaderboard of potential successors as Nvidia’s directors reportedly move toward a decision on the company’s longtime chief executive.

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