Jim Cramer, Ross Gerber, and Kevin O’Leary Back Interim CEO Colette Kress as $NVDA Enters Post-Huang Era

Following co-founder Jensen Huang’s immediate resignation as president, CEO, and board member on Nov. 12—which sent $NVDA shares down more than 13% at the open before closing roughly 5% lower—several prominent market commentators have voiced support for interim CEO Colette Kress.
Speaking on CNBC, Jim Cramer described Kress as a "no-nonsense" executive who "runs with a steel fist," calling her the right leader to steady $NVDA during the transition. Kress has served as $NVDA’s chief financial officer since September 2013—a span in which annual revenue grew from roughly $4 billion to more than $200 billion—after holding senior finance roles at Texas Instruments, Microsoft, and Cisco.
Gerber Kawasaki CEO Ross Gerber called Kress prepared and capable while pointing to $NVDA’s deep executive bench, and Futurum Group’s Daniel Newman projected a shift toward a more operations-focused leadership structure akin to Tim Cook’s tenure following Steve Jobs at Apple. Investor Kevin O’Leary went further, arguing that $NVDA should promote from within and give Kress several quarters to demonstrate her leadership.
Other market observers remain cautious. Scion Asset Management founder Michael Burry questioned whether any internal or external successor can replace Huang without operational disruption and claimed $NVDA pushed customers to buy chips before their data centers were ready, while stressing he was not alleging fraud. Meanwhile, Bernstein analyst Stacy Rasgon downgraded $NVDA to Market Perform and cut his price target from $400 to $200, questioning whether any new chief executive can fill Huang’s shoes.
$NVDA’s board, led by newly appointed Chair Harvey C. Jones, is evaluating both internal and external candidates for the permanent CEO role while Kress retains her CFO duties. The transition follows disclosures surrounding Huang’s extramarital relationships and scrutiny involving a woman suspected of Chinese intelligence ties—allegations Huang and China have denied—alongside a request from three House committee chairs for a closed-door briefing on Nov. 18, one day after $NVDA reports quarterly earnings on Nov. 17.