A publication appeared on Nvidia’s internal resource calling on the board of directors to take into account the team’s opinion about the company’s now former CEO Jensen Huang. The publication collected more than 1,600 comments, and the majority called for his return to his position.
Image source: nvidia.com
Even before Huang’s resignation, one longtime engineer at the company posted a message in the suggestions section on an internal resource calling on the board of directors to listen to the opinions of employees before making any decisions. The post received more than 1,600 comments, many of which asked board members to find a way to bring Huang back. “If you believe in our mission, bring back the boss,” wrote one anonymous commenter. “We are all human and can make mistakes. Jensen has done a lot of good, he needs a second chance,” added another.
Another employee sent a company-wide email demanding clarification of the circumstances surrounding Huang’s departure. “I support Jensen. Not because I believe in infallibility – I refuse to believe that the pursuit of justice should mean abandoning the man whose leadership meant so much to us,” he wrote.
Jensen Huang has led Nvidia since the company was founded in 1993. Last Sunday, November 8, he sent a letter to employees in which he admitted that he had been unfaithful to his wife and added that there was no excuse for this. He was in a romantic relationship with a woman whom American intelligence agencies suspect of working for Chinese intelligence. The day before, Nvidia’s board of directors announced Huang’s resignation; Reports also surfaced about his relationships with two employees of the company itself. There were no further comments from the former CEO himself after the letter sent out on Sunday.
Nvidia’s board of directors consists primarily of early investors in the company and longtime confidants of Huang. CFO Colette Kress became the acting head of the company; the board of directors was headed by former Synopsys CEO Harvey Jones. The crisis that arose against the backdrop of the scandal led to the loss of Nvidia’s market capitalization in the amount of $1 trillion, investigations by American legislators and the FBI, and the threat of new export restrictions on chips arose.
All this week, work at the company continued as usual, but the news of Huang’s resignation came as a complete surprise to many employees. Company employees published words of support for Huang on social networks, and so far we have not been able to find a single publication from them supporting his resignation. There is an opinion that under the new manager the company’s position will worsen. “Nvidia is what it is because of Jensen,” said one employee.
The team expected the board of directors to complete its investigation before taking any serious steps. One employee suggested that the board share the results of the review with them and formally seek the employees’ views on whether Huang should retain his post. But he resigned only at the beginning of the proceedings. “If America is rejecting the man who helped shape its future, then the world does not deserve Jensen Huang,” the company-wide letter said.
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