Nvidia's Jensen Huang reportedly told a senior VP, 'I hope you die'

Nvidia's ex-CEO Jensen Huang was a good or a bad leader? The reviews are mixed. While there are online petitions reportedly signed by 5,000-plus employees asking for his reinstatement, there are also some who see his exit as a breather. According to a report in New York Post, former Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang routinely subjected employees to harsh verbal abuse and once even threw a water bottle at a senior executive during an outburst at the office.Despite cultivating a laid-back public persona marked by his signature black leather jackets and stories about his early years washing dishes and cleaning toilets, Huang presided over a tense internal environment where employees feared his temper during marathon meetings, insiders told the Post.

The 63-year-old former Nvidia CEO maintained an unusual corporate structure in which more than 60 top leaders reported directly to him.In one incident during a closed-door meeting last February with over 30 executives in attendance, Huang reportedly directed his anger at Jay Puri, who was then serving as executive vice president of worldwide field operations. According to a source familiar with the exchange, Huang told Puri, “I hope you get the flu and I hope it gets worse,” before adding, “I hope you die and put us all out of our misery.” A source told the Post that while yelling was common for Huang, that specific remark left the room stunned and silent.'Jensen Huang does not like disagreement'The confrontation was part of a broader pattern of behavior, sources told the publication, noting that some employees were surprised his outbursts had not leaked prior to his departure.

During a three-hour meeting in 2025 with roughly 40 staffers present, Huang allegedly told a senior sales leader, “You don’t know dick about my business.” On another occasion, he reportedly kicked a senior leader out of a meeting—the executive’s first with Huang—after shouting, “Are you smirking at me? I see nothing but dead faces … Get out!” Insiders also recounted an incident at Nvidia’s Santa Clara, California, headquarters in which Huang allegedly hurled a water bottle at a top executive during a meeting.Huang’s abrasive approach extended beyond internal staff, according to the Post.

In a New York Times article published this week, The Thinking Machine biographer Stephen Witt wrote that Huang’s humble public demeanor served “to cloak his arrogance,” stating that contradicting him on even trivial matters “was like lighting a fuse” that led to him screaming at employees for their “idiocy.” Additionally, the Post noted a report in which Huang lectured a group of cloud computing CEOs at a conference in Berlin, sharing a story about a Japanese soup vendor who refused to sell him a second bowl so he would not run out for other waiting customers.

Huang reportedly told the executives, “He’s a better businessperson than all of you,” and accused them of failing to establish the value of Nvidia’s products.Jensen Huang's resignation over 'spy affair'The accounts of Huang’s workplace conduct follow his resignation earlier this week, which came after he admitted to an affair with suspected Chinese spy Alice Huang, who is not related to him.

According to reports cited by the Post, Huang allegedly had affairs with at least three women, including Nvidia’s vice president of health care, Kimberly Powell, and misled top company executives about his relationship with Alice Huang for more than a year before confirming the truth after days of denials.Nvidia gets new CEONvidia Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress has taken over as interim CEO while the company’s board searches for a permanent successor.

Huang had dozens of direct reports, but no clear succession plan. Huang still holds a more than 3.5% stake in Nvidia, making him one of its largest shareholders.Your child uses AI every day. But do they understand it? Find out in the TOI AI Masterclass.