Colette Kress is NVIDIA’s interim chief executive.
NVIDIA’s finance chief takes temporary charge as the board searches for a permanent successor to its founder.
Colette Kress will lead NVIDIA as interim chief executive after founder Jensen Huang resigned following 33 years in charge. The board announced her appointment on Thursday morning.
Kress steps into the role from her position as executive vice president and chief financial officer. Meanwhile, the board will consider both internal and external candidates for the permanent chief executive position.
New board chair Harvey Jones expressed confidence in Kress and the leadership team. He also said the board expected operations, customer commitments and the product roadmap to continue without interruption.
Colette Kress brings decades of finance experience
Before joining NVIDIA in 2013, Kress spent 25 years working in finance across three major technology companies. Her career began with eight years in finance roles at Texas Instruments.
She then joined Microsoft in 1997 and became chief financial officer of its Server and Tools division in 2006. Kress remained at Microsoft until 2010, when she moved to Cisco.
At Cisco, she served as senior vice president and chief financial officer of the Business Technology and Operations Finance unit. NVIDIA was the smallest company she had worked for when she joined, Kress said in a 2024 interview.
However, its business expanded substantially during her tenure. NVIDIA’s annual revenue stood at $4.28 billion when she arrived, compared with a record $215.9 billion in fiscal 2026.
From Huang’s recruitment pitch to the top job
In a 2023 interview, Kress recalled Huang outlining his ambitions for NVIDIA on a whiteboard during recruitment. He wanted to make the company a dominant force in the emerging artificial intelligence industry.
Her sons, then aged eight and 10, also helped persuade her to accept his pitch. Both already knew NVIDIA through its importance to gaming.
Now, Kress takes temporary charge while directors search for a long-term leader. Their decision to consider internal candidates leaves her eligible for the permanent role alongside other NVIDIA employees.
In her first email to staff after the announcement, Kress acknowledged an exceptionally difficult period. She also thanked employees for their resilience, professionalism and continued dedication, speaking on behalf of herself, directors and senior executives.
