🔍 Read the full analysis: Nvidia CEO Search: The Board’s Position And Possible Next Steps 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 candidates to replace founder Jensen Huang. CFO Colette Kress is interim CEO, while the board has not set a public timeline for choosing a permanent successor.
Nvidia’s board said Friday it is still selecting a search firm and has not formally engaged any candidates to replace founder Jensen Huang, who resigned two days earlier. Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress is serving as interim CEO, while board chair Harvey C. Jones leads a search that may consider internal and external candidates but has no public timeline for a permanent appointment.
In a statement to CNBC on November 13, also reported by Reuters, Nvidia’s board said: “We are in the process of selecting a search firm” and “have not formally engaged any potential candidates.” It added that speculation about individual candidates was premature. The statement gives the clearest public account so far of the search’s formal status.
Nvidia’s November 12 press release and a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission name Kress as interim CEO. She will remain executive vice president and CFO until a permanent successor is named. The board appointed Jones as its first-ever chair; he has served as a director since 1993. Jones said in an employee email reported by CNBC that the search would consider internal and external candidates and described Kress as a key architect of the company’s growth and capital strategy.
The public record includes reported possibilities, but none is a confirmed candidate. The Financial Times reported that Nvidia’s board approached Arm CEO Rene Haas, citing people familiar with the matter. Reuters said it could not independently verify the report, and Arm declined to comment. Separately, President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that Apple executive chairman Tim Cook should take Huang’s place. Nvidia’s board has not publicly responded to that suggestion in the cited reporting.
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 the CEO Search
The search comes as Nvidia must maintain confidence among customers, employees, suppliers and investors following the departure of its founder. Nvidia has said that operations, customer commitments and the product roadmap will continue without interruption. Kress’s interim appointment gives the company an executive in charge while the board works through a permanent choice.
The longer-term question is whether Nvidia retains a leadership model closely associated with Huang or moves toward a different structure. Reuters reported that some analysts expect a shift toward “a more institutional leadership structure.” That is analysis, not a board decision. The company has not described what responsibilities a permanent CEO would hold or how leadership roles might be divided.
For businesses that rely on Nvidia products, continuity matters because the search overlaps with scheduled financial results and employee communications. The board’s statement provides a status update, but it does not resolve how long Kress will serve or who may eventually be selected.
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Interim Roles and Search Timeline
Nvidia announced the interim arrangement on November 12, following Huang’s resignation. Its press release says Kress, who has been CFO since September 2013, agreed to take the interim role while continuing as CFO until a permanent successor is named. The SEC filing says the board appointed her while it conducts the search. Jones, 73, became chair on the same day; Nvidia described him as the board’s first-ever chair.
On November 13, Kress and Jones wrote to employees, according to emails published by CNBC. Jones said the board was searching among internal and external candidates. Kress said employees would hear more from leadership and announced a company meeting for November 18 at 9 a.m. Pacific time. Nvidia’s third-quarter results are scheduled for November 17 at about 1:20 p.m. Pacific, followed by an earnings call at 2 p.m.
The board’s account that it is selecting a search firm differs from a November 11 TechCrunch report citing Bloomberg, which said Nvidia was working with an outside firm to identify possible replacements. The available reporting does not explain the difference. An early review of possible names and the formal appointment of a firm to conduct a search could be separate steps, but that is an interpretation, not a confirmed explanation.
““We are in the process of selecting a search firm for the Nvidia CEO role” and “have not formally engaged any potential candidates.””
— Nvidia’s board, in a statement reported by CNBC and Reuters on November 13
Candidate Names Remain Unconfirmed
No permanent successor has been named, and the board has not published a timetable or confirmed that it has formally engaged any candidate. The reported approach to Haas remains unverified by Reuters; Arm declined to comment. Trump’s suggestion of Cook is also not evidence that Nvidia’s board has considered or contacted him.
The source material does not clarify why an earlier report described Nvidia as working with an outside firm while the board later said it was still selecting a search firm. Nor has Nvidia publicly detailed the criteria it will use, the expected length of the process, or whether any internal executives are under consideration. Those points remain open.
Results and Employee Meeting Ahead
Nvidia is scheduled to report third-quarter results on November 17 at approximately 1:20 p.m. Pacific time, with an earnings call at 2 p.m., according to the company. Kress is scheduled to address employees at a company meeting on November 18 at 9 a.m. Pacific. The order means the results and earnings call come before the announced employee meeting.
Those events may provide further information about leadership and operations, but Nvidia has not said that it will announce a search firm or candidate at either one. Until the board reports a formal engagement or names a successor, Kress remains interim CEO and the timing of a permanent appointment remains unknown.
Key Questions
Who is Nvidia’s interim CEO?
Colette Kress, Nvidia’s chief financial officer, is interim CEO. The company says she will continue as CFO until a permanent successor is named.
Has Nvidia hired a search firm?
As of the board statement reported on November 13, Nvidia said it was in the process of selecting a search firm. The board did not say that it had formally engaged one.
Has Nvidia confirmed Rene Haas or Tim Cook as a candidate?
No. The report about an approach to Rene Haas has not been independently verified by Reuters, and Arm declined to comment. Tim Cook was suggested publicly by President Donald Trump, but Nvidia has not confirmed him as a candidate.
When will Nvidia name a permanent CEO?
No public timeline has been announced. The board says it is selecting a search firm and has not formally engaged candidates.
Nvidia is scheduled to report third-quarter results on November 17, 2026, then hold an employee meeting on November 18 at 9 a.m. Pacific time. The company has not said either event will include a CEO-search announcement.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
