Nvidia employees are pressing the company’s board to reinstate Jensen Huang as chief executive just days after his resignation amid a scandal involving an alleged affair with a suspected Chinese intelligence asset, according to internal correspondence reviewed by WIRED.
Huang, who founded Nvidia in 1993 and had led it ever since, resigned Thursday. The controversy broke when reports surfaced that he had been romantically involved with a woman suspected of ties to Chinese intelligence. That Sunday, Huang emailed employees admitting he had been “unfaithful to [his] wife,” writing there was “no excuse” for his actions. He has not publicly addressed the matter since, even as reports of additional affairs emerged.
A longtime Nvidia engineer had posted internally before the resignation, urging the board to consider employee sentiment before acting and to disclose the findings of its investigation “about Jensen’s continuing as our CEO.” That post drew more than 1,600 comments, the majority reportedly supportive of keeping Huang in his role.
“If you believe in the mission, bring back THE boss,” one employee wrote.
“We are all humans and can make mistakes. Jensen did so many good things and he needs a second chance,” another wrote.
Many employees reportedly expected the board’s investigation to conclude before any leadership change took effect. Instead, Huang’s departure came just as the inquiry was getting underway.
Within hours of the resignation announcement, dozens of employees posted messages of support for Huang on LinkedIn. One employee who has worked at Nvidia for a couple of years, speaking without authorization, said the push to bring Huang back appears widespread inside the company. “Nvidia is Nvidia because of Jensen,” the employee said.
One employee also sent a companywide email demanding transparency about the circumstances of Huang’s exit. “I stand by Jensen,” the email read. “Not because I believe any person is infallible, but because I refuse to believe that standing for fairness must mean standing at a distance from someone whose leadership has meant so much to us.” The email also questioned the timing of his departure relative to the board’s unfinished inquiry: “If America fails the man who helped build its future, then this world does not deserve Jensen Huang.”
Fallout and Succession
Nvidia has lost $1 trillion in market value since the allegations first surfaced. The episode has drawn scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers and the FBI, and has raised the possibility of new export controls on chips.
Nvidia’s board, composed largely of early company investors and Huang’s longtime confidants, named Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress as interim CEO and appointed former Synopsys CEO Harvey Jones as board chair.
