🔍 Read the full analysis: The Next Steps In Nvidia’s CEO Search, According To The Board And Reports on ThorstenMeyerAI.com
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TL;DR
Nvidia’s board says it is selecting a search firm and has not formally engaged any CEO candidates, despite reports naming possible successors. CFO Colette Kress is interim CEO, and the company has not announced a timetable for choosing a permanent leader.
Nvidia’s board says it is still selecting a search firm and has not formally engaged any candidates to replace founder Jensen Huang, who resigned as CEO two days earlier. CFO Colette Kress is serving as interim CEO, while the company has not given a public timetable for choosing a permanent leader.
In a statement to 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 that it had not formally engaged potential candidates and that speculation about individuals, internal or external, was premature. Reuters also reported the statement. Nvidia’s November 12 announcement said the board would consider candidates from inside and outside the company.
The company’s press release and a Form 8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission confirm Kress’s interim appointment. She will remain executive vice president and CFO while serving as CEO, until a permanent successor is named. The board also appointed Harvey C. Jones as its first chair. Jones has been a director since 1993.
Reports and public comments have put several names into circulation, but none is confirmed as a candidate engaged by Nvidia. The Financial Times reported that the board approached Arm CEO Rene Haas, citing people familiar with the matter. Reuters said it could not independently verify that report; Arm declined to comment. President Donald Trump separately wrote that Apple executive chairman Tim Cook was the person to take Huang’s place. Nvidia’s board has not publicly responded to 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
Leadership During Nvidia’s Search
The immediate question for customers, employees and business partners is whether a leadership change will affect Nvidia’s operations. The board has said operations, customer commitments and the product roadmap will continue without interruption. That is the company’s stated position; the longer-term leadership structure remains unsettled.
Nvidia is a major supplier of chips and related systems used in artificial intelligence computing. Its CEO search is relevant to companies planning purchases and product development around Nvidia technology, as well as to employees and partners who need clarity on decision-making. The board has not described how responsibilities will be divided during the interim period beyond Kress retaining her CFO role.
The search also raises a question about whether Nvidia will keep the highly hands-on leadership style associated with Huang or move toward a different model. Reuters reported that some analysts expect a shift toward “a more institutional leadership structure.” That is analysis, not a decision announced by Nvidia.
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Kress and Jones Take Interim Roles
Nvidia announced Huang’s resignation and the interim leadership arrangements on November 12. The company’s filing says Kress, who has been CFO since September 2013, agreed to serve as interim CEO while the board conducts its search. Jones, a managing partner of Square Wave Ventures since 2004, became board chair on the same day. Nvidia described him as its first-ever chair.
According to CNBC, Kress met with senior executives at Nvidia’s Santa Clara headquarters on Thursday. CNBC also reported that Jones told employees the board was considering both internal and external candidates, while Kress said employees would hear more from leadership in the coming days. The company has scheduled an employee meeting for November 18 at 9 a.m. Pacific time.
The search-firm statement differs from an earlier report. TechCrunch wrote on November 11, citing Bloomberg, that Nvidia was working with an outside firm to identify potential replacements. The sources provided do not explain whether that earlier work was preliminary or separate from the formal search-firm selection now described by the board. Nvidia has not publicly clarified the distinction.
““We have not formally engaged any potential candidates.””
— Nvidia’s board, in a statement reported by CNBC and Reuters on November 13
Candidates and Timeline Remain Open
No permanent CEO candidate has been confirmed by Nvidia, and the board says it has not formally engaged potential candidates. The reported approach to Rene Haas remains attributed to the Financial Times’ sources; Reuters said it could not independently verify the report. It is not clear whether Haas was approached informally, whether he is under consideration, or whether he would accept the role.
Trump’s statement about Tim Cook is a public recommendation, not an indication that Nvidia has contacted him. The board has not commented on that suggestion in the sources reviewed. The company has also not said whether any internal executive is being considered or who would take over Kress’s finance responsibilities if she became permanent CEO.
The earlier report that Nvidia was working with an outside firm has not been reconciled with the board’s later statement that it was still selecting a search firm. No public deadline for the search appears in the supplied material. The board’s assurance that operations and the product roadmap will continue without interruption is its stated position; the sources do not provide further detail about how interim decisions will be handled.
Earnings and Employee Meeting Ahead
Nvidia’s next scheduled public milestone is its third-quarter results on Tuesday, November 17, at about 1:20 p.m. Pacific time, followed by an earnings call at 2 p.m. The company said the release is proceeding as previously scheduled. The results may give investors and customers an opportunity to hear from the leadership team, but Nvidia has not said whether the search will be discussed on the call.
Kress has scheduled a company meeting for employees on November 18 at 9 a.m. Pacific time. No further details about the agenda have been made public. The board’s next stated step is to select a search firm; any candidate announcements or timetable remain unconfirmed.
Key Questions
Who is leading Nvidia while it searches for a CEO?
Colette Kress, Nvidia’s CFO, is interim CEO and will continue as CFO until a permanent successor is named, according to the company’s November 12 announcement and SEC filing.
Has Nvidia hired a search firm or chosen a candidate?
The board said on November 13 that it was still selecting a search firm and had not formally engaged any potential candidates. It has not announced a permanent CEO choice.
Is Rene Haas confirmed as a candidate?
No. The Financial Times reported that Nvidia’s board approached Arm CEO Rene Haas, citing people familiar with the matter. Nvidia has not confirmed the report, and Reuters said it could not independently verify it.
Did Nvidia say Tim Cook would replace Jensen Huang?
No. President Donald Trump publicly suggested Apple executive chairman Tim Cook. That was Trump’s recommendation; Nvidia has not announced Cook as a candidate or publicly responded to the suggestion in the sources reviewed.
When will Nvidia name a permanent CEO?
No public timeline has been announced. The board says it is selecting a search firm. Nvidia has scheduled third-quarter results for November 17 and an employee meeting for November 18, but has not said either date will bring a CEO-search decision.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
