Colette Kress becomes Nvidia’s interim CEO after Jensen Huang resigns

Colette Kress, Nvidia’s chief financial officer and executive vice president, has been named interim CEO following Jensen Huang’s resignation, according to NBC News and the BBC. For investors searching for the answer on the Colette Kress interim CEO role, the key point is that she has not been announced as Huang’s permanent successor: the board is reported to be looking for a long-term replacement while she continues as CFO.

The change puts Nvidia’s longtime finance leader in charge of a company she joined in September 2013, when it was known chiefly for graphics processors used in gaming. During Kress’s tenure, Nvidia expanded into data-center computing and artificial intelligence infrastructure, a shift reported by NBC News and Decrypt.

Is Colette Kress Nvidia’s permanent CEO?

No permanent appointment has been reported. Kress is serving as interim CEO, meaning she runs the company during the transition while the board considers who should take the job permanently. The BBC reported that she remains Nvidia’s CFO and executive vice president.

That distinction matters for shareholders because an interim appointment provides operational continuity, but it does not settle the longer-term leadership question. The BBC reported that analysts have discussed both internal and external candidates, though Nvidia had not announced a permanent successor in the reporting reviewed.

What did Colette Kress do before Nvidia?

Kress arrived at Nvidia with a career in technology finance spanning several large companies. According to Decrypt, she spent eight years at Texas Instruments before joining Microsoft in 1997. During 13 years at Microsoft, she became CFO of the company’s Server and Tools division, which handled financial strategy for enterprise computing operations.

In 2010, she moved to Cisco, where she was senior vice president and CFO for Business Technology and Operations Finance, Decrypt reported. Nvidia’s official biography, as cited by Decrypt, lists a finance degree from the University of Arizona and an MBA from Southern Methodist University.

Her role in Nvidia’s growth

Kress did not lead Nvidia’s chip engineering, but her finance role covered the company’s expansion as its business changed. Nvidia’s annual revenue was about $4.13 billion when she joined, according to Decrypt. It reported revenue of $215.9 billion for fiscal 2026. Those figures describe the company’s growth during her tenure, not growth attributable to Kress alone.

Decrypt also reported that her time as CFO included Nvidia’s $6.9 billion purchase of networking company Mellanox and investments in businesses that buy Nvidia computing hardware. As CFO, she was also a regular participant in Nvidia’s earnings calls, according to the BBC, making her a familiar executive to investors who follow the company’s results.

In a statement reported by NBC News, Kress said Nvidia would continue its work in accelerated computing and AI while focusing on customers, partners, developers and shareholders. Her immediate task is to lead that work through the CEO transition while retaining responsibility for the company’s finances.

This story draws on original reporting from Decrypt.