US’ Bessent says Nvidia must ‘go outside the company’ to find new CEO

Detailed summary

Bessent says Nvidia should seek a new CEO outside the company after Jensen Huang stepped down amid a crisis. Read more at straitstimes.com.

A 2024 photo shows Nvidia’s Jensen Huang embracing Chinese businesswoman Alice Huang - thought to be a Chinese spy - after delivering his keynote speech at COMPUTEX 2024 in Taipei, Taiwan.

WASHINGTON - US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Nov 15 said Nvidia needs to “go outside the company” as it seeks a new chief executive after Jensen Huang abruptly stepped down last week.

Huang stepped down on Nov 12 after revelations of extramarital affairs, including one involving a suspected Chinese spy, plunging the chipmaker into crisis.

“This makes me think that as the board conducts a search for a new leader that they need to go outside the company, that just (with) what was going on inside the company, they need a dramatic shakeup,” Bessent told Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures show.

Bessent also said Nvidia’s board and outside counsel needed to answer, within the next 10 days, questions about the company’s culture of compliance with export restrictions.

Nvidia’s board has approached British chipmaker Arm Holdings chief executive officer Rene Haas in its search for a potential replacement for Huang, the Financial Times said on Nov 13. REUTERS

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