Jensen Huang reportedly doubted interim Nvidia chief Colette Kress
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on TechCrunch
According to the Wall Street Journal, which cites an anonymous source, Jensen Huang reportedly described Colette Kress, his interim successor, as frozen during a presentation this summer. He also reportedly judged her unable to help him steer strategy, while she was questioning financial guarantees granted to data centres.
Jensen Huang reportedly described Colette Kress, Nvidia’s chief financial officer now heading the group on an interim basis, as a “deer in the headlights” during a meeting with the finance team, according to the Wall Street Journal, which cites an anonymous person. The subject of that meeting was guarantees worth several billion dollars that Nvidia is considering offering to data centre operators unable to pay for its chips upfront. Huang also reportedly criticised her for being unable to help him steer strategy or decisions.
Colette Kress has worked at Nvidia for more than thirteen years, after holding finance roles at Cisco, including at the head of its senior vice-presidency of technology and operations. The same newspaper reports that she questioned agreements built on programmes and credit involving Nico Caprez, Huang’s son-in-law. She wanted to know how to determine which are advantageous, how to assess guarantees and how to calculate returns.
Earlier this year, she had reduced Nvidia’s commitment to OpenAI’s data centre project in Ohio, according to the same newspaper. Nvidia had considered granting OpenAI 250 billion dollars of credit, before committing to 105 billion dollars.
This revelation comes after Jensen Huang resigned on Thursday 12 November, following reports of two extramarital affairs, one of them with the vice-president in charge of healthcare, Kimberly Powell. Colette Kress is serving as interim head, while Nvidia looks for a permanent successor to Huang, who had led the group for more than thirty-three years. The group is also investigating a possible espionage case benefiting China.
