Jensen Huang Called Colette Kress ‘A Deer In The Headlights’. Now She Must Steer Nvidia

The woman Jensen Huang once reportedly dismissed as “a deer in the headlights” is now sitting in the corner office he has left behind. Colette Kress, Nvidia’s longtime chief financial officer, has taken over as interim chief executive after Huang’s resignation, inheriting a company whose extraordinary ambitions she had sometimes challenged — including the multibillion-dollar bets that helped fuel its artificial intelligence boom.

A new Wall Street Journal report has revealed the tensions behind their working relationship, offering a glimpse of the disagreements that preceded one of the most consequential leadership transitions in the technology industry.

Huang’s Ambitions Collided With Kress’s Financial Caution

According to the Wall Street Journal, Huang summoned senior finance executives to his office during the summer as concerns mounted over Nvidia’s increasingly ambitious investments in the AI economy. During the meeting, he sharply criticised Kress, describing her as “a deer in the headlights” and a “reporting CFO”. The remarks were made as executives examined the financial risks of deals involving companies that rely on Nvidia’s chips and investment.

The disagreement was not merely about personalities. As Nvidia expanded its financial backing for AI companies and cloud providers, Kress questioned how the company should assess the risks involved. One proposal concerned a major OpenAI data-centre project. Kress helped reduce Nvidia’s proposed commitment by half, according to the WSJ. The company later paused some financing arrangements amid concerns about its exposure and the wider implications of circular financing — a model in which companies invest in customers who, in turn, spend money on their products.

Kress’s caution had placed her in an unusual position inside a company shaped by Huang’s appetite for risk. Reuters reported that she had often acted as a counterweight to the former CEO’s ambitions, pushing back on investments that involved substantial sums. Her role was particularly significant because Huang’s success had given him considerable latitude over major corporate decisions.

From Finance Chief To Nvidia’s Interim Leader

Kress joined Nvidia in September 2013 and has spent more than a decade overseeing its finances through a period of extraordinary growth. Before that, she held finance positions at technology companies including Cisco and Microsoft. On November 12, Nvidia announced that she would serve as interim CEO while the board searches for a permanent successor. She will retain her position as chief financial officer during the transition.

Her appointment comes as Nvidia confronts questions about corporate governance, its investment strategy and the circumstances surrounding Huang’s departure. The board has said it will consider both internal and external candidates for the permanent position. Kress, meanwhile, must reassure investors that the company can sustain its momentum without the founder who led it for 33 years.

For years, Kress was the executive expected to make the numbers work while Huang pursued the next frontier of AI. Now she must do something more difficult: convince the world that Nvidia’s future can remain formidable even without the man who made its name synonymous with the AI revolution.