Nvidia Board Considers Leadership Change Amidst CEO Scandal, Israeli Executive Eyed

Nvidia's board of directors is reportedly discussing a potential leadership change for the tech giant amidst allegations of personal scandals involving its founder and CEO, Jensen Huang. An independent investigation has been launched into claims of two alleged extramarital affairs by Huang. The uncertainty has already impacted the company's stock, which fell approximately 8.6% to $158.78, leading to a market capitalization loss of hundreds of billions of dollars.

Among the potential successors being considered is Johnny Srouji, Apple's head of hardware technologies. Srouji, who was born and raised in Haifa, Israel, and holds degrees from the Technion, has been instrumental in developing Apple's custom silicon chips. He joined Apple in 2008 and has since expanded his responsibilities to oversee a wide range of hardware technologies.

Other internal candidates include Nvidia's CFO Colette Kress, 59, who has been with the company for 13 years and could provide financial stability, though her lack of engineering background might be a hurdle. Ian Buck, 49, a senior vice president and a key figure behind Nvidia's CUDA platform, is also seen as a strong contender from within the company.

Rene Haas, CEO of Arm and a former Nvidia executive, is another name mentioned as a possible successor. Nvidia's board has also reportedly engaged external recruitment agencies to find a replacement for Huang.

However, some industry figures have defended Huang. Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, urged the board not to rush decisions, warning that removing Huang could be a mistake comparable to Steve Jobs's ousting from Apple and could significantly harm the U.S. Nvidia's board consists of 11 members, ten of whom are independent directors, and a simple majority vote can remove the CEO.