Jensen Huang has resigned as Nvidia CEO amid allegations involving a suspected Chinese spy. Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress has taken over as interim CEO while the company searches for a permanent replacement.
Kress has spent 13 years managing Nvidia’s finances. Her history stretches from Microsoft’s early cloud expansion to lawsuits over crypto revenue and insider stock sales.
1. Kress Was Named in Nvidia’s $5.5 Million Crypto Scandal
During the 2017 crypto boom, miners bought gaming GPUs in huge numbers. In 2022, the SEC fined Nvidia $5.5 million for failing to disclose mining’s role in revenue growth.
Separately, shareholders accused Kress of misleading investors about that demand.
A 2023 appeals court found sufficient grounds to allege her statements were misleading, but upheld the dismissal of claims against her because knowing or reckless misconduct was insufficiently alleged.
The lawsuit against Nvidia and Huang continued, with investors winning class certification in March 2026.
2. Helped Microsoft’s Multibillion-Dollar Expansion
Kress was finance chief of Microsoft’s Server and Tools division from 2006 to 2010.
Its revenue rose from $11.2 billion in fiscal 2007 to $14.9 billion in fiscal 2010.
Microsoft also launched Azure during her tenure, although the growth cannot be attributed to Kress alone.
3. Reported Republican Donations
The advocacy group 1792 Exchange attributes $1,600 in Republican political contributions to Kress, compared with none to Democrats.
It provides neither dates nor underlying donation records. The figure remains independently unverified and does not establish party membership.
4. Named in an AI Copyright Lawsuit
A July 2026 shareholder lawsuit named Kress among Nvidia executives accused of allowing copyrighted books, videos, and voices to be used in AI development without authorization.
These remain allegations, with no established finding of personal wrongdoing.
5. Sold $7.7 Million in Nvidia Stocks
Delaware Supreme Court records show Kress sold 36,333 Nvidia shares for $7.7 million between October 2017 and September 2018 under a trading plan.
Shareholders questioned insider sales during the disputed crypto disclosure period. The litigation cited $147 million in alleged combined insider sales.
Neither figure establishes illegal trading.
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