Kress, who has served as Nvidia’s CFO for 13 years, will oversee the company while its board searches for a permanent successor. The board said it would consider both internal and external candidates for the position, Anadolu Agency reported.
“I am committed to building on the extraordinary foundation Jensen created,” Kress said in a statement announcing the leadership change.
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Kress holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Arizona and an MBA from Southern Methodist University in Texas.
She began her career at Texas Instruments, where she spent eight years in financial positions before joining Microsoft in 1997.
During her 13 years at Microsoft, she held several senior financial and planning roles, including serving as chief financial officer of the company’s Server and Tools division for four years.
In 2010, Kress moved to Cisco, becoming senior vice president and finance chief of its Business Technology and Operations Finance organization.
Nvidia appointed her executive vice president and CFO in September 2013, following a two-year search for a finance chief. At the time, the company was primarily known for producing graphics processing units used in video games.
As CFO, Kress played a central role in managing Nvidia’s financial strategy, financial reporting and investor relations during the company’s transformation into a global leader in artificial intelligence technology.
She became a familiar voice to investors through the company’s quarterly earnings calls, as demand for Nvidia’s AI chips drove extraordinary revenue growth.
Financial analysts have credited her with helping strengthen Wall Street’s confidence in the company during its rapid expansion.
Fortune ranked Kress 49th on its 2026 list of the most powerful women in business.
Her Nvidia holdings have also made her a billionaire, a relatively rare achievement for a chief financial officer. Bloomberg included her among Nvidia’s billionaire executives in July 2025, when the company’s market capitalization exceeded $4 trillion.
Kress takes over at a challenging moment for Nvidia. The company’s shares fell more than 10% in premarket trading Thursday following the announcement of Huang’s resignation.
The leadership change comes amid an independent investigation into reports that Huang was targeted by a foreign intelligence operation. The controversy has raised questions among investors and US lawmakers about the company’s leadership and potential security implications.
One of Kress’s first major challenges will come on November 17, when Nvidia is scheduled to release its quarterly financial results.
Investors are expected to look for reassurances about the company’s operational stability, updates on the search for a permanent CEO and clarity on its business outlook in China.
Nvidia’s board has said that the company’s operations, customer commitments and product development roadmap will continue without disruption under Kress’s leadership.
