The hunt is on for a new Nvidia CEO after the company head and co-founder, Jensen Huang, resigned amid multiple allegations of extramarital affairs, including one that involved an alleged Chinese spy and two with company employees.

Nvidia immediately named Colette Kress, the company’s chief financial officer, as the interim CEO. It’s possible she could stay on permanently, but the company could also name another candidate for the full-time role.

Names that have been floated include Ian Buck, who manages Nvidia’s AI hardware and software products, and Rene Haas, a former Nvidia employee and the current CEO of Arm Holdings, a UK-based chipmaker.

View image in fullscreenRene Haas, chief executive officer of Arm Holdings. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

Whoever takes over from Huang will have tremendous sway in the burgeoning world of artificial intelligence. The entire AI ecosystem relies on Nvidia, which engineers advanced chips used to train AI models and power companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic and Google. Nvidia is also a central driver of the US economy and one of the world’s most valuable companies, with a market cap of around $4tn.

The board said it was starting a search for Huang’s permanent replacement and is considering internal and external candidates.

View image in fullscreenLisa Su attends an event in Washingon last month. Photograph: Evan Vucci/Reuters

Haas, the CEO of Arm Holdings, is also well-known at Nvidia, having worked there for seven years as a vice-president and general manager before joining Arm in 2013. Lisa Su, the CEO of chipmaker AMD, is also being named as a possible replacement for Huang. Her company is Nvidia’s most direct and fierce competitor; she’s also a distant cousin to Huang.

Donald Trump has reacted to the resignation of Huang by saying Huang “has done a fantastic job,” and adding, “There is only one man to take his place – TIM COOK of Apple.”

“A Legend replaces a Legend!” Trump wrote on his social media site of Cook, who is Apple’s former CEO.

Who could replace the departed Jensen Huang as Nvidia CEO? Read more