As Nvidia board seems set to fire CEO, Elon Musk may have a job for him
Elon Musk has said that it will be an ‘honor’ to hire Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang embroiled in a ‘spy scandal’. Musk’s remarks come after reports emerged that the chip maker’s board is planning to out Jensen Huang from Nvidia. Financial blog Zerohedge shared a post on X (formerly Twitter) writing: “Elon please hire Jensen”. To this, Musk replied, “That would be an honor.” Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang had already admitted having an affair with Alice Huang.
Problems escalated after a New York Times report recently disclosed his second affair with the company's vice president of healthcare, Kimberly Powell. As per the report, Jensen Huang was seen being affectionate with Powell at Nvidia's GTC conference in San Jose in March.Huang’s security team then had the bystander who filmed them sign a non-disclosure agreement.Kimberly Powell relationship puts Nvidia’s own conduct rules in focusKimberly Powell joined Nvidia in 2008.
The 48-year-old has headed its healthcare unit since late 2017. People who worked at the company say the relationship was discussed internally. Nvidia’s code of conduct asks employees to avoid conflicts that arise from personal relationships. Asked about Powell over the phone, Huang said, “I don’t think you should be talking to me directly,” and hung up. Powell has not commented.Boards have acted on this before.
Intel’s Brian Krzanich resigned in 2018 over a past relationship with an employee, and McDonald’s removed Steve Easterbrook a year later for similar breaches.Nvidia board to decide Jensen Huang’s futureAs per a Wall Street Journal report, the Nvidia board is planning to remove Jensen Huang as chief executive. The board was planning to meet as soon as Wednesday to decide his future, WSJ reported.Jensen Huang co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and built a gaming chip startup into the AI industry’s main chip supplier, with an estimated 90% share of that market.
Nvidia shares fell about 8% in after-hours trading on the news.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.
