Nvidia has a new interim CEO in the wake of a massive scandal. Following Jensen Huang’s highly publicized affair and subsequent resignation, the company’s longtime chief financial officer Colette Kress stepped into the role.
Kress has been at the company for 13 years after being personally recruited by Huang himself. And she’s endlessly impressive. Not only is she one of a very small number of CFO billionaires, she’s worked exceptionally closely with Huang, and made herself invaluable as a familiar face to Wall Street and is an expert at explaining the company’s plans to investors.
It goes without saying that, no matter how well equipped, the new CEO has some giant shoes to fill as Nvidia cofounder Huang’s 33-year tenure ends. However, inserting a woman into a burdensome leadership role during a time of absolute crisis isn’t exactly a new tactic.
While women and minorities are promoted to leadership positions less often than men, there is one time when they are asked to lead more often: when massive challenges are afoot.
The Glass Cliff
The phenomenon is referred to as, not punching a hole in a glass ceiling, but rather, standing on the edge of the glass cliff. That’s because, while the promotion itself might look like a win for women in business, the precarious position the new leader steps into often sets her up for failure.
The term itself came from researchers at the University of Exeter in the UK, whose research on 100 companies found that women promoted to leadership roles during times of crisis can face intense challenges. But they often are installed so that they can act as a kind of scapegoat for the company when they fail to extinguish the wildfires, which, in this case (and often), were started by the male predecessors.
Martin Lanik, CEO of Pinsight, said, per Investopedia, that in these instances, the new woman leader can actually shield men from blame. “In times of crisis, companies don’t want to risk the loss of who they believe to be their most valuable, high-potential talent—white men. In tough times, they are more likely to sacrifice employees who they perceive as less valued and more dispensable—women and racial minorities.”
In other words, the female leader, no matter how capable, might be viewed as disposable, even as she works to manage a crisis of epic proportions.
Is a massive PR crisis what it takes for a woman to be asked to lead major tech companies?
While Kress’ glass cliff scenario is crystal clear, given the scale of the scandal, the silver lining may be that there is finally a woman at the head of a massive tech company, which are almost exclusively helmed by men like Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Dario Amodei, Tim Cook, and Sam Altman.
Kress is anything but unqualified. But men still rule the tech world by a landslide. Therefore, the new CEO’s promotion begs the question: is this what it takes for women to be asked to lead powerful tech companies?
Christina Lindley, founder and CEO of VPRG Consulting, tells Fast Company that women deserve to lead powerful companies, but not just in order to change the narrative. “If you trust a woman to clean up a crisis, you can trust her to lead before there is one,” Lindley explains.
The founder says she wouldn’t be quick to assume that Kress is being set up to fail, given she’s so uniquely qualified for the role, but that it will be interesting to see whether “she gets the accountability without the power.” If so, Lindley says that’s not a true promotion, but “a clean up assignment.”
Lindley notes Kress’ role should come with a shot at the permanent position.
“A real leadership opportunity means she gets to shape what comes next,” the founder says.
Meanwhile, while Kress will undoubtedly have her work cut out for her, it’s hard to say whether she will be in the role for long. The company says it’s searching for a permanent CEO and will “consider internal and external candidates.”
Whether Kress becomes the permanent CEO will likely depend on how she manages the PR storm. Still, some say that companies—including the most massive tech firms—would be wise to insert more women to lead them.
Annie Scranton, founder and CEO of Pace PR, tells Fast Company, “If tech companies, and American businesses in general, want to avoid crises moving forward, they should put more women in leadership positions.”
Scranton adds, “We don’t suffer from the same lapses in judgment as men.”
