Newshot 黄仁勋's Future Uncertain as Foreign Media Round Up Potential NVIDIA Successors
IT Home, November 12 news — NVIDIA firing its star CEO 黄仁勋 was originally something almost impossible to imagine. But now, that possibility seems to be drawing closer.
On the prediction market Kalshi, the probability that 黄仁勋 will remain in his post this week has fallen to 30%. Although he single-handedly built one of the most valuable companies in the world, and in the eyes of many, NVIDIA's influence has now grown so large that it is cause for concern, the turmoil surrounding him is currently intensifying.
黄仁勋 has admitted to having an extramarital affair, but as of Wednesday afternoon local time, there is still no clear answer as to whom he was referring to: is it Huang Le (Alice Huang), or Kimberly 鲍威尔 (Kimberly Powell), an NVIDIA executive who reports directly to 黄仁勋? The New York Times, in a recent report citing five people familiar with the matter, said that the latter had also previously maintained an intimate relationship with 黄仁勋.
Even if 黄仁勋 is ultimately forced to leave the CEO position, the board members he personally promoted and who gained enormous wealth from NVIDIA's rising stock price may not necessarily completely cut ties with him. If no further unexpected developments occur, the board may let him serve as chairman, a position NVIDIA currently does not have.
But regardless, someone has to be responsible for the company's day-to-day operations. What is more tricky is that NVIDIA currently appears to have no clear succession plan. Therefore, until matters become clearer, the outside world can only speculate about possible successors, just like everyone else. 黄仁勋 has 60 executives reporting directly to him, and they obviously understand the company's internal situation better than outsiders. Below are some noteworthy candidates listed by foreign media outlet Techcrunch.
AMD 苏姿丰: The most direct competitor, so why take over NVIDIA?
苏姿丰 (Lisa Su) is AMD's CEO and one of NVIDIA's most formidable competitors. In addition, she and 黄仁勋 are distant relatives.
Tech media outlet The Information mentioned this week that 苏姿丰 could become a successor, but the question is: why would she give up her current position to take over NVIDIA?
After all, as long as NVIDIA continues to be troubled by internal investigations, congressional inquiries, and a subsequent series of turmoil, AMD has an opportunity to benefit from its competitor's distraction. For 苏姿丰, perhaps the best choice is to send 黄仁勋 a sympathy email and then continue to sit securely in her own CEO office.
埃里克 · Schmidt: Experienced, but with plenty of personal controversy
Jeffrey 索南菲尔德 (Jeffrey Sonnenfeld), senior associate dean for leadership studies at the Yale School of Management, previously recommended 埃里克 · Schmidt (Eric Schmidt) as a potential candidate in an interview.
索南菲尔德 believes that Schmidt could absolutely parachute into NVIDIA tomorrow and do the job quite well.
Schmidt served as Google's CEO from 2001 to 2011, chaired the U.S. National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence from 2018 to 2021, and currently runs the rocket company Relativity Space.
From chips and software to government affairs, and then to rocket technology, his résumé spans multiple fields. However, Schmidt himself also has plenty of controversy involving extramarital affairs. Considering that 黄仁勋 is currently embroiled in turmoil over similar issues, whether Schmidt can win board approval is probably also a question mark.
Intel's Lip-Bu Tan: Perhaps he just needs a dignified exit
Lip-Bu Tan currently serves as Intel's CEO. He is very familiar with the semiconductor industry, and Intel at present may also be facing considerable operating pressure.
Last month, Intel announced third-quarter results, with revenue up 21% year over year to $16.5 billion (IT Home note: at current exchange rates, approximately RMB 110.316 billion). But at the same time, the company warned that fourth-quarter results would fall short of Wall Street's previous expectations.
The memory chip shortage caused by the AI boom has pushed up PC prices and also depressed PC sales. Because the PC chip business occupies an important position in Intel's revenue, the company has thus been hit.
After the earnings warning was announced, Intel's stock plunged 20% in after-hours trading. And since September, the company's stock price has cumulatively fallen more than 30%.
If he could move to a company that is continuously expanding its market advantage and putting heavy pressure on competitors, it would undoubtedly be a rather remarkable career turn for Lip-Bu Tan.
Bret Taylor: The network among big Silicon Valley companies
Bret Taylor previously served as Salesforce's co-CEO and OpenAI's board chairman, and currently runs the AI startup Sierra.
His résumé covers almost the most famous batch of tech companies in Silicon Valley. He participated in creating Google Maps, served as Facebook's CTO, and was board chairman during the period when Twitter was acquired by Elon 马斯克 (Elon Musk).
Later, when OpenAI went through the so-called "Blip," namely the turmoil in which 萨姆 · 奥尔特曼 (Sam Altman) was fired and then quickly reinstated, Taylor took over as OpenAI's board chairman.
Whenever a company needs a calm, communicative manager who is good at stabilizing the situation, Taylor is often among the candidates considered. He probably also knows almost all of NVIDIA's important customers, which is also an advantage.
Ian Buck: NVIDIA's internal CUDA contributor
If NVIDIA's board hopes to have someone who truly understands technology and has participated in building core products take over the company, then NVIDIA vice president Ian Buck (Ian Buck) may be worth considering.
He participated in developing CUDA, the chip software platform that has now become one of the core pillars of NVIDIA's competitive advantage in AI.
Some analysts and former NVIDIA employees have already listed him as a potential successor, and traders on the Kalshi prediction market have given him corresponding attention.
Buck is not exactly a household name, but this Stanford PhD may be an internal candidate worth considering. Especially if 黄仁勋 can retain the chairman position and wants to bring in a successor with whom he can continue to work, then Buck's chances may increase.
Other NVIDIA executives: Andrew Bell and Colette Kress
Andrew Bell, NVIDIA's senior vice president and head of hardware engineering, is also a candidate worth watching.
He joined NVIDIA 25 years ago after graduating from Cornell University and has since steadily risen within the company. Like Buck and dozens of other executives who report directly to 黄仁勋, Bell has a deep understanding of the company's core business and technology roadmap.
In addition, NVIDIA CFO Colette Kress (Colette Kress) is also an internal successor candidate frequently mentioned by the outside world.
However, some analysts believe that Kress may not necessarily have the natural advantages to become an innovative, visionary leader. By comparison, Bell has a deeper background in chip technology.
The biggest dark horse: 黄仁勋's wife, Lori Huang
There is another unexpected candidate: Lori Huang.
No one has formally proposed that she succeed him, but the report argues that the idea is not entirely without basis.
黄仁勋 and his wife met while studying at Oregon State University, where they were lab partners at the time. That is to say, before NVIDIA was founded, Lori already had close working and life ties with 黄仁勋.
After graduation, she worked as a microchip engineer at Silicon Graphics. 黄仁勋 previously even revealed that at the time his wife earned more than he did.
After that, Lori gradually reduced her work involvement and devoted more energy to caring for the family. Currently, she and 黄仁勋 jointly manage the family trust fund.
If the board hopes to maintain continuity in the company, then having another equally smart but more low-key member of the Huang family participate in leadership may not be an entirely unimaginable choice. As the old saying goes, behind every great man there is often a great woman, and the reverse is true as well.
No matter how NVIDIA ultimately chooses, the answer should be revealed soon.
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