"Bring Back the True Captain": Internal Petition Wave Sweeps NVIDIA, Calls for Jensen Huang to Return as CEO
By Paresh Dave, Zoë Schiffer, WIRED
Translated by TechFlow
TechFlow Summary: Following Jensen Huang's sudden resignation amid multiple extramarital affair allegations, Nvidia has not collapsed as some had expected. Instead, a wave of employees has voiced steadfast support for the founder. More than 1,600 messages flooded the company intranet's suggestion box, with the vast majority urging the board to consider staff sentiment and calling for Huang's reinstatement.
The leadership shakeup has already wiped trillions of dollars off Nvidia's market capitalization and triggered an investigation by U.S. regulators. Yet across internal communications and social media, many employees believe that Nvidia's rise is entirely attributable to Huang's leadership. The lightning-fast change in top management so soon after investigations began has also sparked deep concerns about the company's future direction.
Thousands of Supportive Messages on Intranet Suggestion Box: “Bring Back the Real Helmsman”
According to internal communications reviewed by WIRED, despite the reports of Jensen Huang's multiple extramarital affairs and his sudden announcement of resignation, some Nvidia employees have publicly called for him to return to his position.
Before Huang's formal resignation, a senior Nvidia engineer launched an initiative on the company intranet’s suggestion box, urging the board to fully weigh employee attitudes and voices before taking any action.
Since its publication, the initiative has drawn more than 1,600 employee comments, with several explicitly asking board members to work to bring Huang back.
An anonymous employee commented, “If you truly believe in our mission, please bring back the real helmsman.”
Another employee stated, “We are all human and bound to make mistakes. Jensen Huang has done monumental things for Nvidia, and he deserves a second chance.”
Employee Sends All-Hands Email Demanding Transparency, Defends Leadership Contributions
In fact, one employee sent a company-wide email demanding that the board maintain high transparency throughout Huang’s departure process.
The employee wrote, “I firmly stand behind Jensen Huang. Not because I believe anyone is perfect, but because I firmly believe that upholding fairness does not mean alienating a leader who is extraordinarily important to us.”
The employee declined to comment, and the engineer who posted the suggestion box thread also declined. Neither Nvidia nor newly appointed board chairman and early investor Harvey Jones immediately responded to requests for comment.
Crisis Hits Trillion-Dollar Market Cap, Lightning Resignation Rocks Internals
Currently 63 years old, Jensen Huang has steered Nvidia since founding it in 1993. In an internal email sent to employees over the weekend, he confessed to being “unfaithful to my wife” and stated there are “no excuses.”
The statement came after reports emerged of his improper relationship with an individual allegedly linked to foreign intelligence. The board then formally announced Huang’s resignation on Thursday morning, following earlier reports alleging an affair with a direct report (who did not respond to requests for comment).
Reuters subsequently reported allegations that Huang was also involved with another Nvidia employee. Since sending the email over the weekend, Huang has not made any public comments regarding these reports.
Nvidia’s board is primarily composed of early investors and long-time confidants of Jensen Huang. The board has appointed Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress as interim CEO and appointed former Synopsys CEO Harvey Jones as board chairman.
Since the allegations surfaced, this turmoil has wiped trillions of dollars off Nvidia’s market capitalization, sparked investigations by U.S. lawmakers and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and heightened market anxieties over tightening chip export controls.
Viewed as Indispensable Internally: “Nvidia’s Success Is Entirely Due to Jensen Huang”
Although day-to-day operations inside the company continue normally this week, Huang’s abrupt resignation still left a large number of employees feeling shocked and dismayed.
Within hours of the news breaking, more than two dozen employees posted public endorsements of Jensen Huang on LinkedIn, with one describing their trust in his leadership as unbreakable. During the same period, WIRED found zero posts from Nvidia employees supporting Huang’s resignation.
An employee who has worked at Nvidia for several years without external speaking authorization told WIRED that calls for Huang to return to his role are extremely widespread internally.
This employee expressed grave concern that losing the founder’s leadership would ultimately cause significant damage to Nvidia, stating plainly that the board must bring him back: “What makes Nvidia Nvidia is entirely Jensen Huang.”
Many employees had originally expected the board to initiate major changes only after conducting a thorough investigation and reaching conclusions. Posts in the intranet suggestion box, for example, urged the board to share its findings with staff and formally seek feedback on whether Jensen Huang should remain CEO.
Yet Huang stepped down in haste before the investigation could even begin. Employees are eager to understand the real reasons behind the move. As the candid employee in the all-hands email wrote: “If America fails a leader who helped build its future, then the world does not deserve Jensen Huang.”