US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has thoughts about Nvidia’s search for a new CEO.
Bessent said Nvidia’s board of directors should focus on candidates “outside the company” during an interview on Fox’s “Sunday Morning Futures.”
“They need a dramatic shake-up,” Bessent said.
Last week, now former Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang resigned after the company’s board of directors opened an investigation into whether he was the “target of a foreign intelligence effort.”
The same day, Huang admitted to an extramarital affair in a memo to staff. The New York Times and Reuters reported in the days following that Huang also had relationships with two different Nvidia employees.
An October New York Times report said Huang had developed a “close relationship” with Alice Huang, a former tech executive whom US officials believe may have been passing information to China. China has denied the espionage claims, and the US Justice Department has not yet reached a conclusion on the matter.
During the interview, Bessent also said Nvidia’s board of directors should answer questions about the company’s compliance with export regulations in the next 10 days.
“Nvidia is a wonderful company. Jensen Huang is an incredible innovator, but that does not abrogate their duties to compliance,” he said.
In a statement, Nvidia said it would consider both internal and external candidates for the CEO role. Colette Kress, the company’s chief financial officer, is serving as interim CEO. The board has not publicly discussed potential candidates, but some analysts and investors have shared their top picks.
Others, meanwhile, are hoping that Nvidia’s board reinstates Huang as CEO until an internal investigation into his affair is complete.
There is a growing number of people in the tech industry who believe the allegations that Alice Huang is a spy might have been intentionally overblown by China hawks in the US looking to oust Huang. The former Nvidia CEO had been an advocate for supplying chips to China.
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