Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called for Nvidia to recruit its next chief executive from outside the company following Jensen Huang’s resignation, arguing that questions surrounding the chipmaker’s compliance with U.S. export restrictions warrant a fundamental leadership overhaul.
Appearing on “Sunday Morning Futures,” Bessent questioned whether Nvidia’s alleged export compliance failures were isolated incidents or indicative of deeper systemic issues within the organization.
Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang speaks during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber / AP Images)
“We will see if Nvidia intentionally ignored the warning signs of these shell companies, many of them in Singapore,” Bessent said, noting that Nvidia’s accounts showed a crash in sales to China followed by a surge in sales to Singapore.
“And I have seen reporting that only 1% of the chips sold in Singapore remained in Singapore,” he added. “This makes me think that, as the board conducts a search for a new leader, they need to go outside the company.”
“They need a dramatic shake-up.”
The Treasury Secretary’s comments follow Huang’s resignation Thursday after Nvidia’s board investigated his reported affair with a technology executive suspected of being a Chinese intelligence source.
Nvidia’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, Colette Kress, has been named interim CEO while the company searches for a permanent replacement for Huang. (Nvidia/Handout / Reuters)
Huang is also alleged to have had extramarital relationships with two Nvidia employees. Regardless of Huang’s personal conduct, Bessent demanded answers “in the next 10 days from the board and from the outside counsel.”
Nvidia’s board of directors has approached Rene Haas, the chief executive of British chip designer Arm, regarding the succession, according to a report from the Financial Times. Haas, who has led Arm since 2022, spent seven years at Nvidia more than a decade ago and maintains a “strong relationship” with Huang and several board members, the outlet reported Friday.
“It’s a no comment from us,” Arm told FOX Business when asked about the report.
In the meantime, Colette Kress, Nvidia’s current executive vice president and chief financial officer, has agreed to serve as interim CEO following Huang’s departure, the company announced Thursday.
“The Board is initiating a search for a permanent chief executive officer and will consider internal and external candidates,” Nvidia stated.
FOX Business’ Greg Norman-Diamond contributed to this report.
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