Elon Musk backed an effort to reinstate Jensen Huang as Nvidia’s chief executive, saying he would sign a petition seeking the former CEO’s return, even as the chipmaker explores potential successors following
his resignation.
“A petition is underway to reinstate Jensen and I’m signing it too,” Elon Musk said in a post on his social media platform X (formerly Twitter). The billionaire owner of Tesla and SpaceX threw his support behind Jensen Huang as Nvidia’s board considers candidates to take over the leadership of the world’s most valuable chipmaker.
Jensen Huang stepped down as Nvidia’s president and CEO on Thursday following revelations about multiple extramarital relationships, including one involving Chinese businesswoman Alice Huang, who has been suspected by US authorities of having links to Chinese intelligence.
Nvidia Employees Urge Board To Bring Back Jensen Huang
Wired reported that a longtime Nvidia engineer urged colleagues in an internal post to consider employee sentiment before the board made a decision on the company’s leadership.
The post reportedly attracted more than 1,600 comments, with several employees calling for the company to find a way to bring back Jensen Huang.
Nvidia employs around 42,000 people worldwide.
The company’s board, however, said it was in the process of selecting an executive search firm to help identify the next CEO and had not formally approached any potential candidates.
“Any speculation regarding individual candidates, whether internal or external, is premature,” the board said in a statement.
Arm CEO Rene Haas Among Potential Successors
The Financial Times reported that Nvidia’s board had approached Arm Holdings CEO Rene Haas as part of its search for a new chief executive. Rene Haas became Arm’s CEO in 2022 after spending seven years at Nvidia, where he rose to the position of vice-president and general manager of its computing products business. He left the company in 2013 and later led Arm through its Nasdaq listing in 2023.
Arm develops processor architectures and licenses them to companies that design their own chips. Its technology is widely used in smartphones, while the company is also expanding its presence in the computer market.
Who Else Could Replace Jensen Huang At Nvidia?
Nvidia finance chief Colette Kress is currently serving as interim CEO.
Among the internal contenders, veteran engineer Ian Buck has emerged as a possible candidate, given his role in developing CUDA, the software platform that powers Nvidia’s artificial intelligence chips. Other external names being discussed include AMD CEO Lisa Su, Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra, Marvell CEO Matt Murphy and Apple hardware chief Johny Srouji. Former Apple CEO Tim Cook has also been floated as a potential candidate by US President Donald Trump.
