33 years, no successor, shares briefly down 10% after hours: Jensen Huang, who has been at the helm for 33 years, suddenly resigned on Thursday. Nvidia’s market cap fell below $4 trillion, leaving the AI leader without a clear captain overnight.
#Nvidia is looking for a new CEO—who will succeed Jensen Huang? (No. 1 trending post on the Square, with 670 people discussing it) According to Bloomberg, Reuters, and other media outlets, the board met late Wednesday night to discuss his future. Huang resigned as CEO, president, and board member on Thursday, and CFO Colette Kress will serve as interim CEO. Behind the resignation are an extramarital affair and an investigation into related espionage allegations. The board has launched an independent investigation.
Who’s next? The board has hired an external executive search firm to find candidates, looking both inside and outside the company. The three leading contenders are interim CEO Kress, CUDA pioneer Ian Buck, and Arm CEO Rene Haas. Apple hardware chief Johny Srouji is also on the list. Trump named Cook on social media, saying, “A legend for a legend”—but for now, that’s just talk; Cook isn’t on the board’s list.
Why do I think crypto traders should be watching this too? Huang has led the company for 33 years, with around 60 direct reports, and has never publicly named a successor. The relationships he built and the decision-making system he established can’t simply be handed over. An interim CEO and an external search mean at least a few weeks of uncertainty. Nvidia is an anchor of the AI narrative. When the news broke Wednesday, its shares briefly fell 10% after hours; on Friday, they closed at $162.85, down another 2.01%, while the Nasdaq fell 0.91%. When risk appetite cools, BTC gets hit too—it fell to $63,315 overnight. No one is immune. The next key event is Nvidia’s Q3 earnings report, due at 2 a.m. Beijing time on November 18. The market expects revenue of around $108.9 billion. Whether earnings beat expectations and whether a successor is named are two hurdles for risk assets next week. If a successor is named quickly and earnings beat expectations, I’ll have to revise my “period of uncertainty” thesis above.
Who do you think the next CEO will be: an insider (Kress/Buck) or an external hire (Haas/Srouji)? As soon as the successor is announced and earnings are released, I’ll post my take right away. Follow me so you don’t miss it.
—Bao Bao
#Nvidia is looking for a new CEO—who will succeed Jensen Huang? (No. 1 trending post on the Square, with 670 people discussing it) According to Bloomberg, Reuters, and other media outlets, the board met late Wednesday night to discuss his future. Huang resigned as CEO, president, and board member on Thursday, and CFO Colette Kress will serve as interim CEO. Behind the resignation are an extramarital affair and an investigation into related espionage allegations. The board has launched an independent investigation.
Who’s next? The board has hired an external executive search firm to find candidates, looking both inside and outside the company. The three leading contenders are interim CEO Kress, CUDA pioneer Ian Buck, and Arm CEO Rene Haas. Apple hardware chief Johny Srouji is also on the list. Trump named Cook on social media, saying, “A legend for a legend”—but for now, that’s just talk; Cook isn’t on the board’s list.
Why do I think crypto traders should be watching this too? Huang has led the company for 33 years, with around 60 direct reports, and has never publicly named a successor. The relationships he built and the decision-making system he established can’t simply be handed over. An interim CEO and an external search mean at least a few weeks of uncertainty. Nvidia is an anchor of the AI narrative. When the news broke Wednesday, its shares briefly fell 10% after hours; on Friday, they closed at $162.85, down another 2.01%, while the Nasdaq fell 0.91%. When risk appetite cools, BTC gets hit too—it fell to $63,315 overnight. No one is immune. The next key event is Nvidia’s Q3 earnings report, due at 2 a.m. Beijing time on November 18. The market expects revenue of around $108.9 billion. Whether earnings beat expectations and whether a successor is named are two hurdles for risk assets next week. If a successor is named quickly and earnings beat expectations, I’ll have to revise my “period of uncertainty” thesis above.
Who do you think the next CEO will be: an insider (Kress/Buck) or an external hire (Haas/Srouji)? As soon as the successor is announced and earnings are released, I’ll post my take right away. Follow me so you don’t miss it.
—Bao Bao
