Nvidia’s search for a possible successor to CEO Jensen Huang has brought eight executives from across the technology and semiconductor industries into focus. Among them is Indian-American Sanjay Mehrotra, CEO of Micron Technology. Nvidia CFO Colette Kress and vice-president Ian Buck are also prominent names, alongside leaders from Arm, AMD, Apple, Amazon and Google.
According to Bloomberg, Nvidia has hired an external firm to identify potential candidates amid reports of multiple extramarital relationships involving Huang. The company’s board has not announced any decision on his future. The New York Times reported that the board met on Wednesday to discuss the CEO’s position.
Huang has led Nvidia since co-founding it in 1993. Finding a replacement could be particularly challenging given how closely the company’s strategy, technology and industry relationships are associated with him.
Who Are The Eight Potential Successors?
Colette Kress
Nvidia’s executive vice-president and CFO, Kress joined the company in 2013. She previously held senior finance positions at Cisco and spent 13 years at Microsoft, including as CFO of its Server and Tools division. Bloomberg has reported that she could take over as interim CEO and oversee the search for a permanent successor.
Ian Buck
A Nvidia vice-president responsible for data centre products, Buck is also the creator of CUDA, the software platform that enables developers to use Nvidia chips for AI and other computing tasks. His technical expertise and customer familiarity make him a prominent internal candidate. However, Bloomberg has pointed to his limited experience managing a large publicly listed company.
Rene Haas
The CEO of Arm Holdings, Haas previously worked at Nvidia and now leads a major chip-design business with close ties to the company. Nvidia's proposed acquisition of Arm in 2020 eventually collapsed following regulatory scrutiny. His semiconductor experience and familiarity with Nvidia make him a potential contender.
Lisa Su
Su heads Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), one of Nvidia’s biggest competitors in AI chips and high-performance computing. She has strengthened AMD’s position in the semiconductor industry and brings extensive engineering and business leadership experience. Her inclusion is notable given her current role at a rival company.
Johny Srouji
Apple’s chief hardware officer, Srouji has led the development of the company’s custom silicon used in products such as the iPhone and Mac. His expertise spans chip design and technology planning. However, Bloomberg has noted that his experience has largely been within Apple’s closely managed business structure.
Matt Garman
As CEO of Amazon Web Services, Garman oversees a major cloud-computing operation, including its data centres and development of in-house chips. His technical and operational experience could be relevant to Nvidia, given the importance of AI infrastructure to its business.
Sanjay Mehrotra
The Indian-American executive leads Micron Technology, one of the world’s leading memory-chip manufacturers. He has steered the company through changing semiconductor market cycles, while Micron has benefited from rising demand for memory products linked to the AI boom. However, his experience is primarily in memory chips and manufacturing rather than GPUs and Nvidia’s software ecosystem.
Amin Vahdat
Vahdat oversees Google’s Tensor Processing Unit programme, which develops the company’s in-house AI chips. His technical credentials are significant as Google builds alternatives to Nvidia GPUs. However, he has comparatively less experience running a large publicly listed company.
Could Huang’s Family Take Over?
Huang’s children, Madison and Spencer, and son-in-law Nico Caprez also work at Nvidia. Madison is involved in product and technical marketing, Spencer works in product management in the robotics division, while Caprez holds a senior role in global AI infrastructure growth.
Huang has previously said he does not want his children to inherit the responsibility of running Nvidia simply because of their family ties. He has indicated that they would have to earn such a position. None of the three features as a formal contender in Bloomberg’s list.
Why Would Replacing Huang Be Difficult?
Huang co-founded Nvidia with Chris Malachowsky and Curtis Priem in 1993, transforming it from a graphics-card manufacturer into a major force in AI computing. His influence extends across product strategy, technology development and relationships with customers, suppliers and industry partners.
Bloomberg has reported that around 60 senior executives report directly to Huang, highlighting the extent to which the company’s decision-making remains concentrated around him.
His successor would need more than semiconductor expertise. The role demands technical understanding, operational leadership, investor confidence and the ability to maintain relationships across the global AI industry.
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