Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Faces Leadership Crisis After Fake Photo and Affair Reports

A fake photograph showing Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang wearing a black Saint Laurent leather jacket spread widely online and sparked new commentary about the executive. Nvidia told CNN the images were fabricated and were manipulated versions of a real photo taken when Huang arrived at Seoul Gimpo International Airport in June. The jacket was identified as a design by Hedi Slimane from his 2012 to 2016 tenure at Saint Laurent.

Separately, reports emerged that Huang had two extramarital affairs, including one with a woman suspected by U.S. intelligence services of spying for China. One of the women is Kimberly Powell, 48, Nvidia vice president of the health division, who is 63-year-old Huang's subordinate. Huang admitted to being unfaithful to his wife and apologized to his family and employees.

“These images are fake.”

Nvidia's board initially expressed confidence in Huang while launching an independent investigation into a possible espionage operation targeting the CEO. According to the Wall Street Journal, the board met to discuss Huang's future at the company shortly after the New York Times published its report.

The leadership uncertainty has prompted discussion about who could succeed Huang after more than three decades in which Nvidia's trajectory has been inseparable from him. Business Insider identified three Nvidia executives as potential internal candidates should Huang leave the CEO position, while also noting possible external candidates.

The fake photo controversy is ironic because Huang leads the company whose processors underlie much of the artificial intelligence revolution. The leather jacket has long been Huang's recognizable trademark, and a more eccentric version attracted attention online. The posts about the image received more than a thousand likes, with some users joking that Huang had achieved a "negative aura" while wearing an archival Slimane piece.