Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Elon Musk has backed an effort to bring back Jensen Huang as Nvidia’s chief executive, even as the chipmaker’s board explores potential successors, including Arm Holdings CEO Rene Haas, following Huang’s abrupt resignation. Musk said he would sign a petition seeking Huang’s reinstatement, while Nvidia employees have also reportedly urged the board to reconsider its decision.
The Financial Times reported on Friday that Nvidia’s board had approached Haas as part of its search for a new chief executive. However, he is among several names being considered, and there is no certainty that he will be offered the position or agree to take it.
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Huang stepped down on Thursday following revelations about extramarital affairs, including one involving a woman suspected of having links to Chinese intelligence. His departure has thrown the chipmaker into turmoil, sending shockwaves through the artificial intelligence industry that he helped build and finance.
Musk, the billionaire owner of Tesla and SpaceX, said in a post on X that a petition was underway to reinstate Huang and that he would put his name to it. It was not immediately clear whether Musk was referring to an internal employee initiative reported separately by technology publication Wired.
According to Wired, a longtime Nvidia engineer had urged colleagues in an internal post to consider employee sentiment before the board made any decision following Huang’s resignation. The post had attracted more than 1,600 comments, with several employees calling for the company to find a way to bring back its former chief, the publication reported, citing internal correspondence it had reviewed.
NVIDIA EMPLOYS AROUND 42,000 PEOPLE WORLDWIDE
The company’s board said it was in the process of selecting an executive search firm to help identify the next CEO and had not formally approached any potential candidates.
“Any speculation regarding individual candidates, whether internal or external, is premature,” the board said in a statement.
Nvidia declined to comment on the Wired report or Musk’s post. Arm also declined to comment. Reuters could not independently verify the reports.
ARM CHIEF AMONG CONTENDERS
Haas, who became Arm’s CEO in 2022, spent seven formative years at Nvidia, where he rose to the position of vice president and general manager of its computing products business. He left the company in 2013 and later took charge of Arm, overseeing its listing on the Nasdaq in 2023.
Arm develops processor architectures and licenses them to companies that design their own chips. While its technology has traditionally been widely used in smartphones, the company is now expanding its presence in the computer market.
Haas’ previous experience at Nvidia, coupled with his leadership of another major publicly traded chipmaker, could make him a strong contender, analysts said.
“Rene is one of few external candidates who wouldn’t need to be brought up to speed on Nvidia,” said Shay Boloor, chief market strategist at Futurum Equities.
He added that Haas’ familiarity with Nvidia’s culture and experience running Arm offered a combination rarely found among potential candidates.
WHO ELSE IS IN THE RUNNING?
Nvidia’s finance chief Colette Kress is currently serving as interim CEO. Among the internal contenders, analysts have identified veteran engineer Ian Buck as a potential candidate, given his role in developing CUDA, the software platform that powers Nvidia’s artificial intelligence chips.
Other external names being discussed include AMD chief executive Lisa Su, who has navigated the semiconductor industry’s crucial China market, and Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra, whose company’s memory chips are used in Nvidia’s servers.
Marvell chief Matt Murphy and Apple hardware chief Johny Srouji, who oversaw the iPhone maker’s development of in-house silicon, have also been mentioned as possible contenders.
Former Apple CEO Tim Cook has been floated as a potential candidate by US President Donald Trump, adding another high-profile name to the list as Nvidia weighs its options.
The leadership change comes after Huang’s nearly three-decade tenure, during which he maintained a hands-on role in steering the company’s engineering roadmaps, managing geopolitical negotiations over chip exports to China and directing major investments across the artificial intelligence ecosystem.
Analysts expect his successor could bring a different leadership approach, potentially shifting towards a more institutional management structure rather than the highly centralised model associated with Huang.
The transition also comes at a challenging time for Nvidia, which faces increased regulatory scrutiny and growing support among US lawmakers for tighter restrictions on its chip exports to China.
Arm’s US-listed shares fell around 5 per cent on Friday, while Nvidia shares closed about 2 per cent lower. The decline in Nvidia’s stock this week has wiped out around $573 billion from its market valuation.
– Ends
With inputs from Reuters
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
