Huang called CFO Kress 'deer in headlights' before exit

Jensen Huang, who recently stepped down as NVIDIA’s chief executive, reportedly characterized Collette Kress—the company’s current CFO and interim CEO—as “a deer in the headlights” during a presentation earlier this summer. The Wall Street Journal detailed the remark, citing an anonymous source familiar with the events.

Strategic doubts voiced internally

The comment occurred during a session with NVIDIA’s finance team focused on plans to offer billions of dollars in guarantees to data center operators unable to purchase chips upfront. According to the report, Huang also stated that Kress was not someone he could rely on to help steer strategy or decision-making processes.

Kress's tenure and financial scrutiny

Kress has served at NVIDIA for more than 13 years, following her role as Senior Vice President and CFO of Cisco’s Business Technology Operations Finance. The Wall Street Journal noted that she questioned the firm’s program-focused, credit-based deals involving Nico Caprez, Huang’s son-in-law. She sought clarity on how to determine which deals were beneficial, how to value guarantees, and how to calculate returns.

OpenAI commitment reduced

Earlier in the year, Kress scaled back NVIDIA’s involvement in OpenAI’s ambitious Ohio data center project. While the company had been in discussions to provide $250 billion in credit to OpenAI, the final commitment ended up at $105 billion.

Resignation amid personal scandals

Huang resigned on Thursday following reports of two extramarital affairs, one of which involved Kimberly Powell, the company’s Vice President for healthcare. Additionally, NVIDIA is investigating a possible Chinese espionage plot. After his departure, Reuters reported that Huang was having a third affair with another employee. The company is currently searching for a permanent CEO to replace Huang, who held the top position for over 33 years.