Nvidia appoints ex-Synopsys CEO Harvey C. Jones as its first-ever board chair; the board's Jensen Huang exit press release does not include a quote from Huang (Hayden Field/The Verge)

Jensen Huang has resigned from his positions as president, chief executive officer, and a member of the board at Nvidia, effective immediately, according to a statement from the board of directors. TechCrunch reports the resignation was accepted on Wednesday following Huang's admission to a romantic affair with an alleged Chinese spy, which sparked a U.S. national security crisis.

TechSpot reports the resignation follows a second alleged affair with Nvidia’s Vice President of Health Care, Kimberly Powell, while XDA Developers notes that five employees reported the relationship with the executive who reports to him.

Colette Kress, the current executive vice president and chief financial officer, will serve as interim CEO until a permanent successor is named. TechSpot and TechRadar report that the board has initiated a search for a permanent CEO and will consider both internal and external candidates. The Verge reports that Nvidia has also appointed former Synopsys CEO Harvey C. Jones as its first-ever board chair.

Following the news, Nvidia's shares fell nearly 12% in early morning trading on Thursday, with TechCrunch noting a 19% drop since Friday and a market cap loss of more than $855 billion. The Verge observed that the board's press release regarding the exit did not include a quote from Huang.

Brief written by urgent.news from Techmeme, TechRadar, TechCrunch, TechSpot, XDA Developers — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.