Colette Kress, CEO Nvidia’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO), has attracted a lot of attention. She is a key member of the financial team at Nvidia, contributing to the company’s success and its position as a major force in the AI sector.
Kress is not replacing the CEO; According to Nvidia, she will serve as interim CEO of the company if Jensen Huang decides to quit. Nvidia announced on November 12, 2026, that she has agreed to assume the interim role of Nvidia’s CEO if Jensen Huang decides to leave the company. The board president will assume the role of both CEO and CFO until a permanent CEO and CFO are installed.
From Microsoft and Cisco to Nvidia’s Executive Leadership
For almost 30 years, Colette Kress has had extensive technology finance experience working with different large companies. She has held senior finance positions at Texas Instruments, Microsoft (CFO of the server and tools business for 13 years), and Cisco. In September 2013, she became the executive vice president and chief financial officer (CFO) of Nvidia.
Kress has a bachelor’s in finance from the University of Arizona and an MBA from Southern Methodist University. She has over 13 years of Nvidia experience and has been a part of Nvidia’s transformation from a company to a global artificial intelligence juggernaut, having worked closely with Jensen Huang all along the way.
The Finance Chief Who Helped Manage Nvidia’s AI Boom
As Nvidia evolved from a gaming graphics chips company to a leading artificial intelligence company, Kress has helped guide the company’s financial trajectory. In her capacity as CFO, she has overseen a range of responsibilities, such as financial planning, reporting, business strategy, and decision-making, that have been crucial to the company’s ability to meet growing demand for its offerings, expand its footprint, and boost its AI enterprise business.
It’s surprising how fast Nvidia is growing. In fiscal 2013, it had an annual revenue of $4.13 billion, and this revenue would total $215.9 billion annually in fiscal 2026. Kress has also been known to investors for a while, as he has been presenting the company’s financial figures and giving them an overview of the company’s business prospects.
Why Nvidia Chose Colette Kress for the Top Job
Nvidia has named Colette Kress as an acting CEO, as the company looks for its next leader. The company will be looking at internal and external candidates. Kress has intimate knowledge of Nvidia’s finances, business operations, largest customers, and extended contracts, all of which will help to ensure the company stays stable as it transitions.
Besides, Nvidia has also named long-time director Harvey C. Jones to its first-ever board position of chairman. Jones spoke of the company’s business activities and operations and was confident about Kress, who is known to have a good knowledge of the company’s activities.
Can She Lead Nvidia Beyond Jensen Huang?
It will be a huge undertaking to replace Huang. He has driven Nvidia from its humble beginnings as a graphics-chip maker to become one of the world’s biggest AI infrastructure companies since he co-founded it in 1993. Kress has a wealth of financial and business expertise, but there’s a lot more to managing Nvidia than finances.
While the company is expected to hold on to its stake in advanced AI chips, data center infrastructure, CUDA software, robotics and autonomous systems, it will be challenged by AMD and custom-made AI chips being built by tech giants. Kress will need to continue to convince investors, customers, and partners of Nvidia’s vision and retain their faith. But her acting role doesn’t mean that she’ll be the permanent CEO.
What Happens to Nvidia After Her Appointment?
At the meeting of the board, they will begin looking into both internal and external options for Nvidia’s permanent CEO. In the interim, Kress will report to the current CEO and keep the company’s product line. As it is an interim role, it’s not guaranteed that she’ll be offered the permanent role, and it might just be a third choice of an outside Executive.
Investors will be waiting on Nov. 17 when Nvidia reports on its third-quarter financials to see how the company is doing in the transition. At this stage, it’s about maintaining business and business momentum with technology. The biggest challenge for Kress will be to ensure Nvidia’s AI dominance and guiding direction continue without the guidance of its co-founder, Jensen Huang.
