Amid reports that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has had multiple extramarital affairs, including one with an alleged Chinese spy, the tech giant’s board has been working with an outside firm to identify potential successors as it prepares to meet as early as Wednesday (local time) to decide Huang’s future at the company.
The White House will not intervene in Nvidia board’s decision on Huang, Washington Post reported. But keeping him in the role could expose Nvidia to intense scrutiny from lawmakers, investors, customers and employees over his relationship with Alice Huang, including concerns about whether it put the company’s trade secrets at risk, as well as his reported affair with an employee who directly reported to him, according to Bloomberg. This comes after Jensen Huang admitted to having an affair with a woman suspected by the United States of being a Chinese spy . The newspaper identified the executive as Kimberly Powell, Nvidia’s vice president of healthcare, citing five people who had worked at the company. Nvidia didn’t immediately respond to WSJ’s request for comment. The reports have also affected Nvidia’s stock. Investors are now watching closely for any official statement from the company about its CEO’s future.
The company’s shares fell about 9% in after-hours trading on Wednesday, according to Bloomberg. Nvidia has already lost more than $300 billion in market value since news of the reported affair with Alice Huang first emerged.
The Wall Street Journal said earlier that the board was preparing to oust Huang, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter. Huang’s admission came in an email to Nvidia employees on Sunday after the company launched an internal probe. Earlier on Wednesday, The New York Times reported that Huang had an affair with a company executive who reported directly to him . Directors are likely to meet on Wednesday (local time) to discuss Huang’s fate at the company, according to people familiar with the situation, Bloomberg reported.
