Investors urge board to consider return of Jensen Huang, Musk says Nvidia will lose critical deals without its founder
Jensen Huang resigned as the CEO and a member of the board of Nvidia on Thursday, November 12, amid reports of his extramarital affairs involving an alleged Chinese spy and an employee who reported to him. The resignation of Huang from the company he co-founded in 1993 has divided opinions. While many argued that the allegations surrounding Huang were a distraction for the company at the heart of the AI boom, others argued that Nvidia is what it is today due to his leadership. They also argued that replacing Huang with someone else could be detrimental to the world’s second-most valuable company.
Those who have sided with Huang included thousands of Nvidia employees, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and many more. Two major investors in Nvidia have also come out in public backing Huang and urged the board to consider his potential return to the helm.
Altimeter Capital CEO Brad Gerstner, in a post on X, said he has written to the Nvidia board asking them to “pursue a slow, measured, and deliberate process regarding the future leadership of Nvidia.”
Quick answers to key questions
•4 QUESTIONS
1
Why are Nvidia investors asking the board to consider Jensen Huang's return?⌵Altimeter Capital’s Brad Gerstner and Atreides Management’s Gavin Baker said Huang’s long record of leadership and uncertainty around his departure justify a careful succession process. They asked the board to keep his potential return among the options.
2
Why does Elon Musk think Nvidia could lose deals without Jensen Huang?⌵Musk said some Nvidia supply-chain deals were based on a handshake with Huang rather than a written contract. He warned that the company could lose critical deals without him.
3
What did Nvidia investors ask the board to do about its CEO succession?⌵They urged the board to take a slow, measured and deliberate approach rather than rush to replace Huang. They also said all options, including his return, should remain open.
4
Could Jensen Huang return as Nvidia CEO?⌵Investors have asked Nvidia’s board to consider Huang’s potential return, and Musk has backed calls for his reinstatement. The articles do not say that the board has decided to bring him back.
The letter is also signed by Atreides Management’s Gavin Baker.
According to CNBC, Nvidia was Altimeter Capital’s largest disclosed equity holding in its most recent SEC filing, with a 9.4 million-share stake worth nearly $1.9 billion as of June 30. Atreides held 1.2 million shares worth nearly $250 million at the end of June.
Gerstner is the founder of Altimeter Capital and manages $20 billion of assets invested in public companies and private startups. His other investments include Google, OpenAI, ByteDance, and Anthropic.
Baker is the founder, Managing Partner, and Chief Investment Officer of Atreides Management, which managed around $7 billion to $11 billion in assets.
“Given the extraordinary success of Jensen Huang's leadership over a long period of time and given the massive uncertainty associated with recent events surrounding his departure, we believe it is in the best interest of all stakeholders, and certainly the shareholders of Nvidia, for the Board to pursue a slow, measured, and deliberate process regarding the future leadership of Nvidia that leaves all options on the table, including the potential return of Jensen Huang,” the letter noted.
While expressing confidence in interim CEO Colette Kress and team, they argued that Huang has earned the right to a deliberate process that avoids rushing to replace him.
“The Founder and long time incredible leader of this extraordinary company has earned the right for a deliberate process that avoids any needless rush to replace him before all the facts are known,” the letter noted.
Elon Musk also threw his weight behind Huang and on Saturday claimed that Nvidia would lose "critical" deals without its now ousted CEO.
In a post on X, Musk said that while Huang drove supply chain "brilliantly" at Nvidia, many such deals were "a handshake with Jensen, not a written contract."
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