Nvidia’s board of directors is preparing to oust CEO Jensen Huang, according to the Wall Street Journal, following a report that Huang had an extramarital relationship with Kimberly Powell, the company’s vice president of health care, who reports directly to him.
The Wall Street Journal reports that five people who worked at Nvidia, speaking on condition of anonymity, described the relationship. The New York Times reports that Powell reports directly to Huang within Nvidia’s corporate structure. The relationship has not been previously reported.
The development comes shortly after Huang acknowledged a separate affair with a woman suspected of being a Chinese spy.
Two people who worked at Nvidia said Huang and Powell were seen being affectionate at a hotel in San Jose, California, during the company’s GTC developer conference in March. According to three people briefed on the incident, a bystander recorded the interaction on a phone. Huang’s security detail noticed the recording, the people said, pulled the bystander aside, and offered a nondisclosure agreement to sign.
Asked about his relationship with Powell when reached by phone on Wednesday, Huang said, “I don’t think you should be talking to me directly.”
Powell joined Nvidia in 2008. According to the company’s website, she oversees programs applying Nvidia’s chip technology to higher education and health care, with an emphasis on medical imaging devices. Her LinkedIn profile shows she was promoted to senior director of artificial intelligence business development in 2016 and became vice president of health care by late 2017. Huang co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and has led it since.
Precedent at Other Companies
Relationships between a chief executive and a direct report have cost other corporate leaders their jobs. Brian Krzanich resigned as Intel’s CEO in 2018 after acknowledging a “past consensual relationship” with an employee. McDonald’s removed Steve Easterbrook as chief executive in 2019, and later sued him, after determining he had violated company policy by maintaining sexual relationships with multiple employees.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Nvidia’s board is preparing to remove Huang as chief executive, with directors expected to meet as soon as Wednesday.
It is not yet clear who would succeed him. Huang is Nvidia’s largest shareholder, owning about 3.6 percent of the company, and has roughly 60 direct reports. He has said he does not believe in succession planning, though Nvidia’s latest proxy statement warned the company is “highly dependent on the services of our longstanding executive team” and that losing members of that team could “hinder our strategic planning, execution, and long-term success.”
Huang’s own daughter has been floated as a potential successor, appearing on Polymarket’s leaderboard of candidates to replace him.
