Nvidia must find a way forward without Huang

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang resigned Thursday, capping a spectacular downfall for a poster boy of the artificial intelligence boom whose exit following reports of extramarital affairs now thrusts the chipmaker into an uncertain future.After a dizzying series of headlines about Huang's infidelity and ties to an alleged Chinese spy, his departure sets off a scramble to find a permanent replacement to lead the multitrillion-dollar colossus that grew from obscurity to a perch between Apple and Microsoft at the top of the S&P index.Also read: The Huawei connection: Alleged Chinese spy in Jensen Huang affair linked to Nvidia rivalThe resignation sent shares of Nvidia plummeting 14% at the opening bell, before stabilizing. The stock closed down about 4% Thursday as investors pondered the lawsuits, investigations, likely corporate jockeying and the resilience of a market driven by the gains of a few tech giants."Huang's departure introduces uncertainty well beyond the company itself," said Asa Hiken, senior analyst for research firm eMarketer, reflecting fears of wider implications and the possibility of an AI bubble.The company named Colette Kress, the executive vice president and chief financial officer, as interim chief executive. She became CFO in 2013, overseeing the company's global finance operations. Before that, she worked for three years at Cisco and spent 13 years at Microsoft.Nvidia had no succession plan to prepare for the possibility of the departure of Huang, who was synonymous with Nvidia for more than 30 years in much the same way Steve Jobs embodied Apple. Nvidia said its board would consider internal and external candidates to replace him.In a statement Thursday, Kress said that Nvidia's "strength has always come from its people" and that she was "committed to building on the extraordinary foundation Jensen created over the last 33 years."The board of directors said Thursday it had also named its first-ever chairman, Harvey C. Jones, an entrepreneur and venture investor.Drumbeat of scandals grew louderHuang, 63, is one of the world's wealthiest people, with a personal fortune that Forbes estimates at more than $150 billion. He is the single largest individual shareholder of Nvidia stock.A drumbeat of scandals around him had grown louder in recent weeks after The New York Times reported Huang's relationship with a woman the paper said U.S. officials had concluded was a Chinese spy who was recruited to influence California-based Nvidia to make its most advanced chips more available in China.The discovery set off alarms as high as the White House.U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that the FBI was investigating but remained complimentary of Huang on Thursday, saying he "has done a fantastic job." Like many top tech CEOs, Huang is close to Trump, who has hosted him at the White House and on Air Force One, and awarded him a National Medal of Science.Nvidia's board announced an investigation into the allegations on Sunday, but said it remained confident in Huang's leadership. Then pressure compounded late Wednesday after reports surfaced of another alleged affair by Huang, this time with an Nvidia employee who reported to him. Reuters reported Thursday that Huang had an intimate relationship with a second employee, citing unidentified sources.The company has said it had "no reason to believe" that either national security or its secrets were compromised, but that its inquiry would examine all available information.Nvidia is due to report earnings Tuesday.Also read: US Senate panel seeks testimony from Jensen Huang, Commerce Secretary Lutnick over China spy concernsLawmakers still want to question HuangAfter Huang's exit, U.S. lawmakers were still insisting on questioning him about his interactions with a Chinese businesswoman named Alice Huang and the company's security protocols against espionage."Congress must demand answers from Mr. Huang and others at Nvidia about how they may have put U.S. national security at risk," Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer of New York posted online.Rep. Brian Mast, chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, said the committee was in contact with Huang's team as recently as Wednesday night after putting in an initial request for an interview on Nov. 5. Mast said Huang would receive a subpoena to compel his appearance, if necessary.Alice Huang, the suspected spy at the center of the scandal, is a former executive at Singapore-based Megaspeed International. Jensen Huang acknowledged an affair but did not identify her.The two are not related.Megaspeed faced allegations last year that it was illicitly shipping advanced Nvidia computer chips into China, but in December said there was "no evidence" of such exports.Singaporean authorities said Thursday that they questioned Alice Huang and confiscated her passport last year as part of an investigation into Megaspeed. They concluded that there wasn't enough evidence that she had committed a crime but suspected…