Nvidia sounds out Arm's Rene Haas for chief executive as Congress questions chip-export enforcement

Jensen Huang resigned on November 12 as Nvidia's president, chief executive and a member of its board, effective immediately, according to the company's filing. Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress became interim chief executive, and Harvey C. Jones, a former Synopsys chief, became chair. The company gave no reason. Media reports tie the resignation to Huang's alleged extramarital affairs.

The search for a successor has started. The Financial Times reported that Rene Haas, chief executive of the SoftBank-owned chip designer Arm, was approached. Nvidia's board said it was still selecting a search firm and had not formally engaged any candidates, while employees pushed for Huang's return, according to the Japan Times. The stock fell 4.34% on Thursday and another 2.01% on Friday, its sixth weekly decline in a row, and its market value stayed below $4 trillion.

Washington is treating the case as a security matter. Members of Congress want to know whether the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), the Commerce Department agency that enforces chip-export rules, did enough to keep Nvidia's AI processors out of China. US officials told the Financial Times that Trump will not raise the Nvidia spy issue with Xi at next week's three-way meeting. The officials did not describe the issue, and no public charges have been reported.

Beijing reads the episode differently. Nikkei Asia reported that China sees Huang's swift downfall as a political hit, meaning a blow aimed at the US executive who argued most publicly for selling to Chinese customers. Each version serves its source. A misconduct account keeps the matter inside corporate governance. A security account justifies tighter controls. A political account lets Beijing present US export policy as the cause.