Key facts
- Kress, 59, joined Nvidia in September 2013 and retains her CFO duties while serving as interim CEO.
- Nvidia's annual revenue rose from about $4.13 billion when Kress joined to $215.9 billion in fiscal 2026.
- Kress spent eight years at Texas Instruments, 13 at Microsoft and joined Cisco in 2010 before Nvidia.
- Nvidia's board said it had no reason to believe company secrets or US national security were compromised.
- Kress said "Nvidia's strength has always come from its people," promising to build on Huang's legacy.
- Nvidia reports third-quarter fiscal 2027 results on November 17, Kress's first major public test as interim CEO.
Nvidia named Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress, 59, as interim CEO on November 12, 2026, after Jensen Huang resigned, according to a regulatory filing. She keeps her CFO responsibilities while the board searches for a permanent replacement. It is the first time in 33 years that someone other than Huang is running the company.
The filing followed Huang's abrupt resignation amid reports of extramarital affairs and allegations involving a suspected Chinese intelligence operative. Nvidia's board said it had no reason to believe company secrets or US national security were compromised in those allegations.
Kress joined Nvidia in September 2013, when the company was chiefly known for graphics cards used in video games. She arrived with nearly 25 years of financial experience, including eight years at Texas Instruments, 13 at Microsoft, where she was CFO of the Server and Tools division, and a stint at Cisco from 2010 as senior vice president and CFO of its Business Technology and Operations Finance organization. She holds a finance degree from the University of Arizona and an MBA from Southern Methodist University, according to her official biography.
Forbes reported that her two sons, then gamers, encouraged her to join Nvidia, and Wired reported that Huang personally recruited her, sketching his vision for AI computing on a whiteboard. When she joined, Nvidia's annual revenue was about $4.13 billion; by fiscal 2026 it had reached $215.9 billion, an increase of more than 50 times. Her tenure included Nvidia's $6.9 billion acquisition of Mellanox and an investment strategy that included another $2 billion in CoreWeave in January.
Forbes ranked Kress among America's richest self-made women in 2026, with almost $750 million in Nvidia shares as of November 11. Nvidia had already lost approximately $1.27 trillion in market value from its October peak before the board publicly announced its investigation into Huang's affairs.
Kress takes charge as Nvidia faces questions about the sustainability of AI infrastructure spending and Washington's restrictions on advanced chip exports to China. She has promised to build on Huang's legacy, saying that "Nvidia's strength has always come from its people." Nvidia reports third-quarter fiscal 2027 results on November 17, with results scheduled for approximately 1:20 p.m. Pacific followed by an investor call at 2 p.m.