Nvidia’s appointment of Colette Kress as interim CEO puts one of the most powerful women in tech at the helm of the company whose chips and computing systems have become the backbone of the artificial intelligence boom.
The major leadership shakeup Thursday followed the board’s ouster of CEO Jensen Huang amid reports of alleged extramarital affairs involving a woman reportedly accused of being a Chinese spy.
Kress, 59, who spent 13 years at Nvidia as its chief financial officer (CFO) and executive vice president, currently ranks No. 32 on Forbes’ list of America’s richest self-made women, with an estimated net worth of $1.2 billion.
As of Wednesday, her Nvidia shares were valued at roughly $750 million, following a stock decline in the wake of the leadership shakeup, according to Reuters.
COLETTE KRESS NAMED NVIDIA INTERIM CEO AS JENSEN HUANG’S ABRUPT RESIGNATION RAISES INVESTOR CONCERNS
According to a 2023 interview with Israeli business news outlet Globes, Kress first joined Nvidia in 2013 after her sons told her about the chipmaker’s prominence in the video game industry. At the time, Nvidia’s operations were largely centered on gaming technology, years before the company became a dominant force in AI computing.
When she joined, Kress described Nvidia as “the smallest company that I’d ever worked for,” she told Fortune in 2024. Before that, she had spent nearly 25 years in various finance roles at major technology companies.
“I think more investors really now understand who we are — because 10 years ago, probably few could articulate our long-term vision,” she told Globes.
“I call it the ‘supermarket test’. Years ago, if you walked into the grocery store wearing a green Nvidia shirt, some people wouldn’t understand what that was. Today, I believe that people know our company, and are learning what graphic processors can do for artificial intelligence,” she added.
NVIDIA LOSES ITS ‘GODFATHER OF AI’ AND NOW FACES FIRST BIG TEST WITHOUT HIM
Nvidia’s revenue stood at $4.13 billion in the fiscal year Kress joined the company, compared with $215.9 billion in fiscal 2026, according to the company’s earnings reports.
Regulatory filings show that Kress’ compensation includes restricted stock units, including a March 2026 award scheduled to vest over four years.
Unlike many competing technology companies, Nvidia also operates under an at-will employment arrangement, allowing it to terminate top executives without owing them a pre-negotiated severance payout.
TRUMP SAYS ‘THERE IS ONLY ONE MAN’ TO REPLACE JENSEN HUANG AS NVIDIA CEO
Before joining Nvidia, Kress spent more than two decades in the technology sector, holding finance positions at major companies including Texas Instruments, Microsoft and Cisco.
According to Forbes, Kress spent eight years in various finance roles at Texas Instruments.
She then joined Microsoft, where she worked from 1997 to 2010.
During her 13-year tenure at Microsoft, she became chief financial officer of the company’s Server and Tools division, a position she held for her final four years.
In 2010, Kress joined Cisco, where she spent three years as senior vice president and chief financial officer of its Business Technology and Operations Finance organization. Her responsibilities included financial strategy, planning, reporting and business development.
Kress holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Arizona and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Southern Methodist University.
In a statement following her appointment as interim CEO and CFO, Kress said:
“NVIDIA’s strength has always come from its people, and together with our leadership team, I am committed to building on the extraordinary foundation Jensen created over the last 33 years,” she said.
“We will continue advancing the work that has made NVIDIA a leader in accelerated computing and AI, and execute on the opportunities ahead. Our focus remains on serving our customers, partners, developers and shareholders.”
Reuters contributed to this report.
The post Meet Nvidia’s new interim CEO: The fortune and rise of Colette Kress appeared first on Fox Business.
