Who Will Be Nvidia's Next CEO? Ian Buck, Colette Kress Lead Race as Trump Pushes Tim Cook to Replace Huang

Nvidia Corp. has begun searching for a new chief executive after co-founder Jensen Huang's sudden resignation. A wide field of potential successors is emerging, ranging from longtime insiders to rival chip executives and a surprise suggestion from President Donald Trump.

Nvidia's board said Thursday it is "initiating a search for a permanent Chief Executive Officer and will consider internal and external candidates." Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress is serving as interim CEO and will remain CFO until a permanent successor is named.

Huang, who never publicly named a successor, resigned as president, CEO and director following reports of two extramarital relationships, including one with a woman U.S. officials suspect of being a Chinese spy.

Nvidia shares closed Thursday at $166.19, down 4.34%, after falling more than 11% earlier in the day. The stock hit a new 52-week low before paring losses.

Trump backs Tim Cook

Trump weighed in on the search Thursday with a post on Truth Social.

"NOW THAT Nvidia CEO JENSEN HUANG, who has done a fantastic job, has resigned, there is only one man to take his place - TIM COOK of Apple," Trump wrote. "A Legend replaces a Legend!"

Cook, who led Apple for nearly 15 years before John Ternus took over as CEO on Sept. 1, has not commented on Trump's suggestion. On prediction market Polymarket, traders ranked Cook behind Ian Buck, Kress and Arm CEO Rene Haas.

Trump later described the Huang saga as a "horrible thing" and "so sad to see," CNBC reported.

The insiders

Many analysts and investors see two Nvidia executives as particularly likely candidates, at least in the short term: Kress and Buck, Reuters reported.

Colette Kress, Nvidia's CFO since 2013, previously worked at Microsoft, Cisco and Texas Instruments. She is the executive most familiar to investors after Huang.

"Colette has helped lead NVIDIA through a period of extraordinary growth and has a deep understanding of our business, customers, operations and financial position," said Harvey C. Jones, whom the board named as its first-ever chair.

Analysts see Kress as a steady choice for a crisis. Citi analysts Atif Malik and Papa Sylla wrote that she could serve as interim CEO while the board evaluates outside candidates, CNBC reported.

Ian Buck, Nvidia's vice president of hyperscale and high-performance computing, joined the company in 2004. He helped lead development of CUDA, the software platform that made Nvidia chips the standard for AI. He now manages Nvidia's AI hardware and software products for its largest customers.

Polymarket traders initially favored Buck as the most likely next CEO, although trading volume on that market was small.

Some investors have suggested a shared leadership structure. Armina Rosenberg of Minotaur Capital suggested pairing "one leader to steady the business and the finances, such as Colette Kress, alongside a product and technology leader, such as Ian Buck."

The outsiders

Several executives at other major tech companies have also been mentioned.

Rene Haas, CEO of chip designer Arm Holdings, is the outside candidate with the most support in media reports. Haas spent seven years at Nvidia, where he ran its computing products business, before joining Arm in 2013. He became Arm's CEO in 2022 and led its 2023 Nasdaq listing.

A chips banker told Reuters that Haas made the most "logical sense." Shay Boloor, chief market strategist at Futurum Equities, also said Haas could be an outside candidate worth considering.

Lisa Su, CEO of rival Advanced Micro Devices, has also been named in reports. Like Huang, Su was born in Taiwan. Hiring the chief of Nvidia's closest competitor, however, would be highly unusual.

Other names floated include Micron Technology CEO Sanjay Mehrotra, Apple hardware chief Johny Srouji, Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman, Google AI infrastructure leader Amin Vahdat, Marvell Technology CEO Matt Murphy and former Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger.

None of the reported candidates has publicly commented on the Nvidia job.

A hard act to follow

Analysts say replacing Huang will be difficult. He co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and built it into a company worth more than $4 trillion.

"My bigger concern is next decade, because Jensen isn't simply Nvidia's CEO but he's the person who has consistently identified where computing is going," Boloor told Reuters.

Investors want a leader who understands the technology, has a long-term vision and has strong financial skills, according to Reuters.

Bernstein on Thursday cut its price target on Nvidia in half, to $200 from $400.

Bloomberg reported that Nvidia is working with an outside search firm to identify candidates. The board did not give a timeline for naming a permanent CEO.

Kress' first major test will come Tuesday, Nov. 17, when Nvidia reports fiscal third-quarter results.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.