Jensen Huang is out at Nvidia — who is Colette Kress, his interim replacement?

On Thursday, Nvidia's Board of Directors made a surprising announcement: co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang has resigned, effective immediately. This shocking move has caught many off guard, given Huang's central role in the company's success throughout its 33-year history. The company's design chips are at the heart of the ongoing AI revolution, making Nvidia one of the world's most valuable firms.

Huang's resignation came after reports surfaced alleging he had affairs with both a suspected Chinese spy and one of his Nvidia employees. Despite the ongoing search for his replacement, Nvidia's CFO and Executive Vice President, Colette Kress, has stepped in as interim CEO. Kress, who has been with the company since 2013, brings a wealth of experience from her previous roles at Cisco and Microsoft.

She holds a finance degree from the University of Arizona and an MBA from Southern Methodist University. Kress' LinkedIn profile shows a limited social media presence, with only occasional well-wishes for colleagues' retirement. In her first statement as interim CEO, Kress emphasized her commitment to advancing Nvidia's work in accelerated computing and AI, echoing the sentiments expressed by her predecessor.

With Nvidia's quarterly earnings due for release on Tuesday, Kress will likely provide more insights into her plans for the company's future direction.