- Nvidia has approached Arm CEO Rene Haas as a candidate for its permanent CEO role
- Jensen Huang stepped down amid controversy involving alleged ties to Chinese intelligence
- Haas has extensive Nvidia experience and has led Arm since 2022, including its Nasdaq listing
Nvidia has approached Arm Holdings Chief Executive Rene Haas as it searches for a permanent successor to Jensen Huang, the Financial Times reported on Friday. Haas is among several candidates under consideration, although there is no certainty that he will receive an offer or accept the position.
The reported outreach comes a day after Huang stepped down as Nvidia's chief executive, triggering uncertainty at the centre of the global artificial intelligence industry. His departure followed revelations about extramarital relationships, including one involving a woman reportedly suspected by US intelligence officials of having links to Chinese intelligence.
Haas brings considerable experience at Nvidia. He spent seven years at the chipmaker, eventually becoming vice president and general manager of its computing products business. He left in 2013 to join Arm, where he rose through senior leadership positions before becoming CEO in 2022.
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His tenure at Arm has included overseeing the company's Nasdaq listing in 2023 and steering its expansion beyond its traditional mobile-phone market into computing. Arm develops processor architectures and licenses them to companies that build their own chip designs, giving Haas experience across a different part of the semiconductor ecosystem.
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Nvidia has appointed Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress as interim CEO while its board evaluates internal and external candidates. The search comes at a critical time for the company, which has become the central supplier of processors powering the global AI infrastructure boom.
The leadership transition also raises questions about whether Nvidia can maintain its strategic direction and relationships with major customers without its long-time chief executive.
Arm declined to comment on the reported approach, while Nvidia did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.
Following the report, Arm shares pared some losses but remained down more than 5% in US trading. Nvidia shares were also trading over 3% lower, reflecting continued uncertainty surrounding the leadership change.
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