While Nvidia has launched an independent investigation into bombshell reports that Chinese intelligence targeted CEO Jensen Huang—and that Huang had an affair with an alleged Chinese spy—early indications suggest that the company’s board may be unwilling or unable to challenge the rockstar CEO.
On October 29, when The New York Times first reported that US intelligence had concerns about Huang’s contacts with Alice Huang, a former top executive at Singapore-based data center firm Megaspeed, the company characterized the relationship as an ordinary business matter and said it didn’t share classified information with customers.
The board did not announce an investigation until 10 days later, after Huang acknowledged the affair in a memo to staff, emphasizing that it “has no reason to believe that either national security or NVIDIA secrets were compromised.” And before the investigation even started, the board had already said it had “confidence in Jensen and his leadership team.”
The announcement also framed the investigation as focused on national security, without mentioning whether it would address potential concerns about Huang’s judgment or conduct as an executive.
Nvidia has said Huang will continue serving as CEO without interruption.
Fast Company reached out to Nvidia for comment but had not received a response by the time of publication.
Indeed, there may be little Nvidia’s board can do to punish Huang without seriously risking the company’s business, which has become inextricable from Huang himself.
Huang co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and has spent more than three decades transforming it from a maker of graphics chips into a dominant force in the artificial intelligence boom. The 63-year-old is involved in nearly every aspect of the company’s business—from product development to its relationships with customers and government officials—with more than 60 executives reporting directly to him.
That dependence could make the board’s task particularly difficult. Nvidia has no publicly identified successor to Huang, and analysts have warned that his departure could create enormous uncertainty for the company.
“Jensen is not replaceable,” wrote Dan Ives, partner and senior managing director at Yorkville Ives & Co. “There is no other person on the management team bench that can step in seamlessly as CEO.”
An organization putting all its eggs in the basket of its leader can be risky, and not just in business. In politics, the Republican party learned that the hard way following last week’s blue tsunami—after fashioning itself the party of Donald Trump, GOP leaders are beginning to slowly distance themselves from the president, as the Democrats’ historic blow-out win lays bare the fractures in the MAGA movement.
Nvidia’s stock was down nearly 5% as of 12:50 p.m. EST.
