Who is Colette Kress?
Colette Kress is the chief financial officer of Nvidia and, since 12 November 2026, its interim chief executive. She took over after co-founder Jensen Huang resigned, and she keeps her CFO role while the board looks for a permanent CEO 1. Kress, 59, has been Nvidia’s finance chief since September 2013. Forbes ranks her No. 32 on its 2026 list of America’s richest self-made women, with an estimated net worth of $1.2 billion 2.
How did Colette Kress become interim CEO?
Nvidia’s board announced on 12 November that Huang had resigned as president, chief executive and director with immediate effect, and named Kress interim CEO. Harvey C. Jones, a former Synopsys chief executive, became the board’s first chair 3. Reuters reported that the move followed reports of extramarital affairs involving Huang, one with a woman alleged to be a Chinese spy. Nvidia gave no reason in its announcement 1. Our report on the Jensen Huang resignation has the full timeline.
What did Colette Kress do before Nvidia?
Kress spent eight years in finance roles at Texas Instruments, then worked at Microsoft from 1997 to 2010. She became chief financial officer of Microsoft’s Server and Tools division in 2006. In 2010 she moved to Cisco as senior vice president and CFO of its Business Technology and Operations Finance organisation, and she left for Nvidia in 2013 after nearly 25 years in finance at large technology companies 12.
She has said she joined Nvidia after her sons told her about its reputation in video games, and she described it as the smallest company she had worked for, Fox Business reported 2.
Colette Kress’s education
Kress holds a bachelor of science degree in finance from the University of Arizona and a master of business administration degree from Southern Methodist University, according to Nvidia’s annual report, as cited by Reuters 1.
Colette Kress net worth
Forbes puts her net worth at about $1.2 billion, which ranks her No. 32 among America’s richest self-made women in 2026 2. Reuters valued her Nvidia shares at roughly $750 million at Wednesday 11 November’s close, down from more than $1 billion at the stock’s peak the month before 1. The two figures measure different things, so they do not match. Our Colette Kress net worth page explains the gap.
The job she inherits
Nvidia’s revenue was $4.13 billion in the fiscal year Kress joined and $215.9 billion in fiscal 2026, according to Reuters. Her first test as interim chief is Nvidia’s third-quarter results on Tuesday 17 November 13. The board has not given a timetable for naming a permanent CEO, and Yahoo Finance reported that prediction markets favour Nvidia executive Ian Buck 6. For the wider story, see our report on the Nvidia board meeting on Huang’s future.