Nvidia's board is preparing to remove CEO Jensen Huang after The New York Times reported he had a second extramarital affair, this one with Kimberly Powell, the company's vice president of health care. Nvidia shares fell more than 9% in after-hours trading Wednesday.
Nvidia's board of directors is preparing to remove CEO Jensen Huang, according to a Wall Street Journal report published Wednesday, after The New York Times disclosed that Huang had a second extramarital relationship — this one with a fellow Nvidia executive.
Shares of Nvidia fell more than 9% in after-hours trading on Wednesday following the reports, dipping below $160 per share — a level the stock had not seen since June 2025, according to market data.
The board is preparing to meet as soon as Wednesday to determine Huang's future at the company, the Journal reported. The alleged relationship was with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia's vice president of health care, who joined the company in 2008 and has led its health care group since 2017. Powell is described on Nvidia's website as being responsible for the company's worldwide health care business, encompassing hardware and software platforms for accelerated computing, AI, and visualization.
Huang and Powell were reportedly captured on camera being affectionate with one another at a hotel in San Jose, California in March, according to the Times.
Nvidia and Powell did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Heller, the crisis PR firm Huang reportedly retained as early as last year, also did not immediately respond.
The disclosure of a second affair compounds an already severe crisis for Huang. Days earlier, he acknowledged a relationship with a woman identified as Alice Huang, whom U.S. intelligence officials believe is an agent for China's Ministry of State Security, according to the Times. Nvidia's board has opened an independent investigation into the spying allegations and retained the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz.
"I was unfaithful to my wife. My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did," Huang wrote in a message to Nvidia staff on Sunday. "I am deeply sorry."
Most of Huang's Nvidia shares are co-owned with his wife, Lori Huang, and are held in trusts. Those trusts hold approximately 800 million shares. Huang holds roughly 70 million shares on his own.
Nvidia's stock was already down 7% for the week before Wednesday's after-hours drop, marking its sixth consecutive weekly decline. The broader AI infrastructure trade has also been under pressure since last week's midterm elections, in which Democrats won sweeping majorities in both houses of Congress, alongside ballot measures that could complicate data center construction.
Rumors of an affair between Huang and Powell have circulated for years, in part because Powell lacks a background in health or science, according to a former employee who asked not to be named given the sensitivity of the matter.
Huang has long been closely identified with Nvidia's rise as the dominant supplier of chips used to train AI models and run large-scale AI workloads. His potential departure raises immediate questions about leadership continuity at a company whose market position has made it central to the global AI buildout.
What happens next — whether the board proceeds with a formal ouster, negotiates a transition, or takes another course — is expected to become clearer after Wednesday's planned board meeting.
Marc Sabatini is a staff writer at TechEchelon covering enterprise software, cybersecurity, and the regulatory beats that shape both. He focuses on the deal flow and policy decisions that move markets.
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Nvidia shares fell roughly 4% for the second consecutive session Tuesday as CEO Jensen Huang's admission of an affair with an alleged Chinese spy triggered a class-action lawsuit, an FBI inquiry, and congressional calls for investigation into the chipmaker's China ties.
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