Three Israeli technology executives have been identified as prospective candidates to succeed Jensen Huang, who stepped down as chief executive of artificial intelligence chipmaker Nvidia after guiding the enterprise for more than three decades.
Huang’s resignation, announced on 12 November, took effect immediately. In the interim, Nvidia’s board of directors has designated chief financial officer Colette Kress to lead the business while conducting a search for a permanent successor from both internal and external pools, reports Middle East Eye.
According to Israeli media reports, the contenders being discussed include Nvidia chief technology officer Michael Kagan, former Mellanox co-founder and chief executive Eyal Waldman, and Apple chief hardware officer Johny Srouji.
Michael Kagan co-founded Israeli networking company Mellanox in 1999, joining Nvidia following its $6.9 billion acquisition of the firm in 2020. Serving as chief technology officer, his work has focused on networking hardware that permits thousands of processors to communicate efficiently inside large data centres.
Eyal Waldman, who also co-founded Mellanox and directed the business prior to its acquisition, is no longer part of Nvidia’s executive management. However, local media, including Ynet, report that his name has surfaced in executive succession discussions.
Johny Srouji, who joined Apple in 2008 and serves as chief hardware officer, is recognised as a pivotal figure in Apple’s custom silicon development, having directed the processor transition from Intel chips to Apple Silicon.
Huang’s departure followed a series of reports regarding personal relationships, including an alleged affair with Alice Huang, a Chinese businesswoman whom US intelligence agencies suspect of acting as an intelligence asset for Beijing. China has denied the espionage allegation.
In a message sent to staff, Huang admitted to being unfaithful to his wife and offered apologies to his family and co-workers. Nvidia subsequently initiated an internal inquiry to examine whether its chief executive was targeted in a foreign intelligence effort.
Although Nvidia’s board had examined Huang’s position prior to his resignation, the company has not publicly stated that his personal relationships caused his exit, nor has it verified any compromise of corporate secrets or national security. The company noted it has “no reason to believe that either national security or Nvidia secrets were compromised”, though its internal investigation will review the available evidence.
The disclosures have heightened questions concerning Nvidia’s commercial dealings in China, where its advanced hardware is subject to strict US export control policies. Among the entities under examination is Megaspeed, which reports have scrutinised regarding its potential role in aiding Chinese firms to secure restricted Nvidia processors.
Huang’s departure leaves Nvidia navigating a critical executive shift while its hardware remains central to the global AI sector amid rising geopolitical tensions between Washington and Beijing.
