Colette Kress, Nvidia's executive vice president and chief financial officer since September 2013, has agreed to serve as interim chief executive officer, according to an NVIDIA Newsroom release dated November 12, 2026. We covered the announcement in Jensen Huang Resigns as Nvidia CEO; Kress Is Interim CEO.
The release says: "NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) Board of Directors announced today that Jensen Huang has resigned as President, Chief Executive Officer, and a member of the Board, effective immediately." A Form 8-K dated November 12, 2026, and reporting an earliest event date of November 11, 2026, describes the board action this way: "On November 11, 2026, the Board of Directors, or the Board, of NVIDIA Corporation accepted the resignation of Jen-Hsun Huang, as NVIDIA's President, Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board, effective immediately." The filing uses Huang's legal name, Jen-Hsun Huang.
The 8-K then says: "Following Mr. Huang's resignation, the Board appointed NVIDIA's Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Colette M. Kress, age 59, to serve as interim Chief Executive Officer, while the Board conducts a search for a new Chief Executive Officer." In official filings she is named Colette M. Kress. The newsroom release, which names her Colette Kress, says she "has agreed to serve as Interim Chief Executive Officer" and that "Kress will continue to serve as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer while serving as Interim Chief Executive Officer until a permanent successor has been named."
Her path to Nvidia
The newsroom release says Kress "has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of NVIDIA since joining the company in September 2013." Nvidia's leadership biography of Kress, retrieved on November 12, 2026, also says she joined the company in September 2013. Nvidia's Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 25, 2026, filed February 25, 2026, says: "Colette M. Kress joined NVIDIA in 2013 as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer." The 10-K does not give a month.
The release and the leadership page both describe her pre-Nvidia career as "nearly 25 years" in finance roles. The release says: "Prior to joining NVIDIA, Kress spent nearly 25 years in finance roles at leading technology companies, including Cisco and Microsoft." The leadership page says she joined Nvidia "after serving nearly 25 years in a range of finance roles at major technology companies." The 10-K does not use the "nearly 25 years" phrase. It instead gives year counts and date ranges for each prior employer, which are set out below. This article does not add those figures together.
The leadership page says: "She previously served for three years as senior vice president and chief financial officer at Cisco's Business Technology and Operations Finance organization, where she was responsible for financial strategy, planning, reporting and business development for all business segments, engineering and operations." The 10-K describes the same Cisco role with a start year rather than a length: "Prior to NVIDIA, Ms. Kress most recently served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the Business Technology and Operations Finance organization at Cisco Systems, Inc., a networking equipment company, since 2010." It then uses the same responsibility list: "At Cisco, Ms. Kress was responsible for financial strategy, planning, reporting and business development for all business segments, engineering and operations."
On Microsoft, the leadership page says she "spent 13 years at Microsoft, including four years as chief financial officer of the Server and Tools division, and held senior roles in corporate planning and finance." The 10-K gives dates instead of those year counts: "From 1997 to 2010 Ms. Kress held a variety of positions at Microsoft, a software company, including, beginning in 2006, Chief Financial Officer of the Server and Tools division, where Ms. Kress was responsible for financial strategy, planning, reporting and business development for the division."
On Texas Instruments, the two official biographies differ in how much detail they give. The leadership page says: "Prior to that, she served at Texas Instruments in a variety of finance positions." The 10-K says: "Prior to joining Microsoft, Ms. Kress spent eight years at Texas Instruments Incorporated, a semiconductor company, where she held a variety of finance positions." The eight-year figure appears in the 10-K, not on the leadership page.
The leadership page and the 10-K also use different degree abbreviations. The leadership page says: "Kress holds a B.Sc. degree in finance from University of Arizona and an MBA from Southern Methodist University." The 10-K says: "Ms. Kress holds a B.S. degree in Finance from University of Arizona and an M.B.A. degree from Southern Methodist University."
Her record as Nvidia's CFO
The newsroom release says that during her tenure as chief financial officer, Kress "has led the company's finance organization and has played a key role in NVIDIA's growth and evolution." The 10-K does not add a longer list of departments she oversees at Nvidia. In the 10-K signature block dated February 25, 2026, she is listed as "Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial Officer)." That filing lists Donald Robertson, separately, as "Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer (Principal Accounting Officer)."
The 10-K's "Information About Our Executive Officers" section presents ages and titles "as of February 20, 2026." In that table, Colette M. Kress is listed as age 58 and as executive vice president and chief financial officer. The 8-K, which reports an earliest event date of November 11, 2026, lists her age as 59.
As retrieved on November 12, 2026, the leadership biography still titles her "EVP and Chief Financial Officer," and Nvidia's management team page uses the same title. That matches the release and the 8-K, which say she will continue as executive vice president and chief financial officer while she serves as interim chief executive officer.
Nvidia's definitive proxy statement, filed May 12, 2026, names "Colette M. Kress, EVP and CFO" as one of the company's named executive officers for Fiscal 2026. Nvidia's fiscal year 2026 ended January 25, 2026, according to the 10-K. The Summary Compensation Table in the proxy reports her compensation as follows:
- Fiscal 2026: salary $898,577; stock awards $12,825,872; non-equity incentive plan compensation $600,000; all other compensation $16,402; total $14,340,850.
- Fiscal 2025: salary $893,739; stock awards $19,849,891; non-equity incentive plan compensation $600,000; all other compensation $18,902; total $21,362,532.
- Fiscal 2024: salary $896,863; stock awards $11,756,027; non-equity incentive plan compensation $600,000; all other compensation $13,902; total $13,266,792.
A separate table in the same proxy, titled "Fiscal 2026 Compensation Actions" for "Colette M. Kress EVP & CFO," lists target pay, not the Summary Compensation Table totals. That table lists a base salary of $900,000, described as "Flat with Fiscal 2025"; a variable cash target of $300,000, with a 200% payout under the Variable Cash Plan of $600,000 because "Fiscal 2026 revenue exceeded Stretch Compensation Plan goal"; and a "TOTAL" target of $16,000,000, described as "Up $1.0 million, or 7%, from Fiscal 2025 target." The $16,000,000 figure is target pay from that table. It is not the same figure as the $14,340,850 Fiscal 2026 total in the Summary Compensation Table.
The proxy's beneficial ownership table, as of March 23, 2026, lists Colette M. Kress with 4,443,523 shares owned, no shares issuable within 60 days, and 4,443,523 shares beneficially owned. The table marks her percentage with an asterisk, and the notes say "* Represents less than 1% of the outstanding shares of our common stock." The proxy says the percentages are "based on 24,312,141,810 shares of our common stock outstanding as of March 23, 2026, adjusted as required by SEC rules."
Under "Employment, Severance, and Change-in-Control Arrangements," the May 12, 2026 proxy says: "Our executive officers are 'at-will' employees and we do not have employment, severance, or change-in-control agreements with our executive officers." That language was in the proxy filed before the CEO change. The November 12, 2026 8-K does not disclose a new employment agreement or new compensatory arrangements for Kress's interim chief executive officer role.
What the interim CEO role is
The company's description of the interim role is the one in the newsroom release and the 8-K. The release says Kress "has agreed to serve as Interim Chief Executive Officer" and "will continue to serve as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer while serving as Interim Chief Executive Officer until a permanent successor has been named." The 8-K says the board appointed her "to serve as interim Chief Executive Officer, while the Board conducts a search for a new Chief Executive Officer," and that she "will continue in that role while she serves as the interim Chief Executive Officer." "That role" in the 8-K refers to her position as executive vice president and chief financial officer.
The 8-K is signed on November 12, 2026, by Colette M. Kress with the combined title "Interim Chief Executive Officer, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer." A copy of the press release, dated November 12, 2026, is attached as Exhibit 99.1.
The 8-K does not appoint Kress to the board. The newsroom release also does not say that she was named a director. Neither document discloses new pay terms for the interim chief executive officer role.
The release says the board appointed Harvey C. Jones as "its first-ever Chair of the Board." The 8-K says that appointment was made on November 11, 2026, and lists Jones's age as 73. The 8-K says he "has served on the Board since 1993," "has been the Managing Partner of Square Wave Ventures, a private family office, since 2004," and "has over 30 years of experience as an entrepreneur, high technology executive, and venture investor." The release describes him as "an entrepreneur, technology executive, and active venture investor for over 30 years, including serving as Chief Executive Officer and Executive Chairman of Synopsys." The Synopsys titles appear in the release, not in the 8-K.
Jones, identified in the release as chair of the Nvidia board, said: "Colette has helped lead NVIDIA through a period of extraordinary growth and has a deep understanding of our business, customers, operations and financial position." He also said: "She is supported by an experienced leadership team that has been instrumental in executing NVIDIA's strategy and advancing its technology roadmap. The Board has full confidence in Colette and the leadership team, and we expect the company's operations, customer commitments and product roadmap to continue without interruption."
Kress, identified in the release as "Interim CEO and CFO, NVIDIA," said: "NVIDIA's strength has always come from its people, and together with our leadership team, I am committed to building on the extraordinary foundation Jensen created over the last 33 years." She also said: "We will continue advancing the work that has made NVIDIA a leader in accelerated computing and AI, and execute on the opportunities ahead. Our focus remains on serving our customers, partners, developers and shareholders."
What Nvidia has said about the CEO search
The newsroom release says: "The Board is initiating a search for a permanent Chief Executive Officer and will consider internal and external candidates." The 8-K says the board appointed Kress "while the Board conducts a search for a new Chief Executive Officer."
Those two documents do not name a search firm, a board committee running the search, or a date by which a permanent chief executive officer will be named. The only duration language they give is the release's phrase "until a permanent successor has been named" and the 8-K's phrase "while the Board conducts a search for a new Chief Executive Officer."
What's next
The newsroom release says Nvidia "will report its third-quarter fiscal 2027 financial results on Tuesday, November 17, at approximately 1:20 p.m. PT, as previously scheduled, followed by its earnings call at 2 p.m. PT."
llms.blog has also covered other Nvidia announcements, including a November 8, 2026 collaboration in which the Rebellions R200 joins Nvidia NVLink Fusion at SK Telecom, and Nvidia's donation of the OpenShell agent runtime to the CNCF.
Sources
- NVIDIA Announces CEO Transition (NVIDIA Newsroom, November 12, 2026)
- NVIDIA Corporation Form 8-K (earliest event November 11, 2026; dated November 12, 2026)
- Colette Kress leadership biography (retrieved November 12, 2026)
- NVIDIA Corporation management team (retrieved November 12, 2026)
- NVIDIA Corporation Form 10-K (fiscal year ended January 25, 2026; filed February 25, 2026)
- NVIDIA Corporation definitive proxy statement (DEF 14A) (filed May 12, 2026)
- Jensen Huang Resigns as Nvidia CEO; Kress Is Interim CEO
