NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.US) plays down CEO successor rumors: has not formally approached any potential candidates, says all speculation is "premature"

NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.US) has played down speculation that it has already approached potential chief executive candidates, saying it is still selecting a headhunting firm to find a successor to ousted leader Jensen Huang. "We are in the process of selecting a search firm for the NVIDIA Corporation CEO role and have not formally approached any potential candidates," the chipmaker said in a statement. The remarks came after widespread speculation over who might be chosen to succeed Jensen Huang. NVIDIA Corporation has appointed CFO Colette Kress as interim CEO and said it will launch a process to find a permanent CEO to replace Huang, while saying it will consider both internal and external candidates. According to a person familiar with the matter, Kress held her first meeting as interim CEO with senior executives on Thursday afternoon at NVIDIA Corporation's headquarters in Santa Clara, California. The person requested anonymity to discuss internal details. Earlier reports said the board had approached Arm Holdings Plc (ARM.US) chief executive Rene Haas about the position. The report sent Arm shares plunging nearly 10% at one point on Friday before the decline narrowed. The media outlet, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that NVIDIA Corporation's board had approached Haas as one of the potential candidates to succeed Huang. Haas has served as CEO of SoftBank-owned chip design company Arm since 2022 and previously worked at NVIDIA Corporation for about seven years, maintaining close ties with Huang and some NVIDIA Corporation board members. However, Haas is only one of several candidates the board is considering, and it is not yet certain whether he will ultimately be appointed or accept the position. NVIDIA Corporation's board said: "Any speculation about specific candidates, whether internal or external, is premature." NVIDIA Corporation, the world's largest chipmaker, formally severed ties with Huang on Thursday amid multiple expanding scandals involving extramarital affairs. He ran NVIDIA Corporation for three decades and built it into a giant at the center of the AI computing boom. NVIDIA Corporation shares fell more than 2% on Friday, pushing the company's market value below $4 trillion, as investors digested the news of Huang's departure and the shadow of an ongoing investigation into his conduct.