Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Returns to Office as Board Hires Wachtell
Jensen Huang held his regular executive meeting Monday after disclosing an affair, as Nvidia's board hired Wachtell Lipton Rosen Katz to probe the relationship.
Nvidia (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang walked into the company's Santa Clara, California headquarters on Monday and conducted his regular morning meeting with top-level executives, people familiar with the meeting told CNBC. The meeting came a day after Huang disclosed an extramarital affair to employees in an email.
Huang opened the closed-door gathering by addressing his infidelity and saying he was sorry to staff, according to the people, who asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak publicly. He took no questions and quickly pivoted to business and the day's top agenda items, they said.
The CEO was also in the office on Tuesday, conducting meetings one week ahead of the company's quarterly earnings report. Nvidia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
People inside the artificial intelligence chip giant said Huang tried to project "business as usual," even as the probe moved forward into his affair with an alleged Chinese spy. He was in a romantic relationship with Alice Huang, a former Megaspeed executive, according to The Financial Times.
Nvidia's board opened an investigation and hired Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to conduct the probe on Tuesday. Employees inside the firm described the mood to CNBC as "sad." One employee told CNBC they were shocked by Huang's revelations.
Longtime employees viewed Jensen Huang as an idol who could do no wrong and a guiding light, people told CNBC, and many are struggling to come to grips with the CEO's actions.
Huang co-founded Nvidia in 1993 to build graphics processing units for video game graphics. In recent years the company has become synonymous with the AI boom, powering the technology behind large language models and the massive data center buildout. The news of the CEO's affair has drawn increased scrutiny on his continued support for more AI chip sales to China.
NVDA shares were down 5.47% in delayed trading.