Nvidia's board met on the evening of November 11, 2026 (U.S. Eastern time) to discuss the future of founder and CEO Jensen Huang, according to CNN, citing two people familiar with the matter. Earlier, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that the board was preparing to oust Huang. Nvidia did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the meeting, and as of November 12 the board's conclusion had not been disclosed. Under Nvidia's bylaws, removing the CEO requires only a majority vote of directors, but the real deciding factor is likely whether a succession plan is in place. The first key checkpoint is the quarterly earnings call scheduled for November 17.
Board Meets Just Three Days After Expressing Confidence in Huang
The situation came to light on Sunday, November 8. In a statement from its board of directors, Nvidia said that, following reports that Huang had been targeted by a foreign intelligence operation, a committee of independent directors would oversee an investigation with the help of outside counsel. The statement said there was no reason to believe U.S. national security or Nvidia's confidential information had been compromised, and it expressed confidence in Huang and the management team. The same day, Huang published a message to employees in which he admitted to infidelity toward his wife, apologized, and said he would cooperate fully with the board's investigation.
On November 10, Nvidia's independent directors announced that they had retained Joon H. Kim, a former acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and his law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to conduct an independent investigation. The next day, The New York Times reported that Huang had had another affair, this one with an Nvidia executive. According to CNN, the board then convened to discuss Huang's future, and some people in the Trump administration reportedly believed a removal could be decided at the meeting. However, the meeting and its content are based on reporting from sources and have not been officially confirmed by Nvidia.
Just three days passed between the board's November 8 expression of confidence in Huang and the November 11 reports of a meeting on his future. That was only one day after the law firm for the independent investigation was announced, meaning a leadership change began to be considered before the investigation produced any findings. With only six days until the November 17 earnings call, time to prepare a succession is limited if the board decides to act quickly.
Uncertainty over the company's leadership has already moved Nvidia's stock sharply. According to CNN, shares fell a combined 9.5% on November 9 and 10, then rose 2.9% in regular trading on November 11. After news of the board meeting broke, however, the stock plunged again in after-hours trading, down 8.6% as of 8 p.m. Eastern. The November 11 close was 27% below the high reached in early October, reflecting growing investor concern over the CEO's fate.
Removing the CEO Takes a Board Majority; Succession Is the Biggest Hurdle
The procedure for removing Nvidia's CEO is not necessarily complicated. According to NDTV Profit, under Nvidia's bylaws as amended on March 12, 2024, a majority of directors in office can remove a corporate officer with or without cause. There is no need to wait for a criminal conviction or similar outcome; the board can relieve the CEO of his post on its own judgment. Removing someone from the board itself, however, requires a shareholder vote, a separate process from removing the CEO. That means Huang could remain on the board even if he steps down as CEO.
While the procedural barriers are low, the absence of a successor is likely what makes an actual removal difficult. CNN notes that Nvidia has no clear No. 2 behind Huang. Huang himself said in a 2023 Bloomberg interview, in effect, that Nvidia was built around his way of running things, and he has shown little interest in conventional succession planning. Having led the company for 33 years since founding it in 1993, Huang would not be easy to replace on short notice.
Indeed, Bloomberg reported on November 11 that Nvidia's board is working with an outside firm to identify potential CEO successors. Seeking outside help is consistent with the view that no clear in-house successor is ready to take over immediately. That said, hiring an outside firm alone does not prove there are no internal candidates, and the board could name an interim CEO and then choose a permanent successor.
In a November 9 article, the WSJ put Nvidia's market capitalization at roughly $4.5 trillion. Removing a longtime leader of such a giant company without naming a replacement would create major uncertainty, not only for operations but also for relationships with customers and investors. If the board decides to remove him, it will likely need at least an outlook for the management structure, including an interim CEO. Even if a permanent successor cannot be chosen in time, securing someone to handle immediate management decisions could leave room to proceed with a removal.
The first major milestone is Nvidia's fiscal 2027 third-quarter earnings call on November 17. According to the official announcement, the quarter ended October 25, 2026, and the call begins at 2 p.m. Pacific time on November 17 (7 a.m. on November 18 in Japan). If Huang is removed before then, another executive would likely handle the presentation. If Huang attends as usual, it would mean he is still carrying out his duties as CEO at least until the call. Attendance alone, however, cannot establish the board's final decision or progress on choosing a successor.
The Board Could Act Without Settling on a Successor
Still, securing a succession structure does not necessarily stand in the way of a removal. The WSJ and CBS have reported that the board is preparing to oust Huang, and a leadership change could move forward quickly. Even without a formal successor, the board could appoint an interim CEO to run the company in the meantime while it selects candidates from inside or outside. The outside firm's search for candidates reported by Bloomberg is also consistent with a plan that includes such a transition period. In that case, building a succession structure would not be long-term preparation ahead of a removal but something done at the same time.
There are also factors supporting Huang staying on. The board's November 8 statement clearly expressed confidence in Huang and management, and according to the November 9 WSJ article, a Nvidia spokesperson said Huang intended to continue leading the company as CEO without interruption. President Trump also indicated on November 8 that he favored Huang staying when asked whether he should remain. With the lawyers for the independent investigation only just announced, waiting for the findings before deciding on any management action is also a quite plausible option.
However, these expressions of confidence and support for Huang's retention all predate the new allegations and the board discussions reported on November 11. It has not been made clear how much the later reports influenced the board's judgment. At this point, it cannot be said that removal has become the default course, nor that Huang's continuation is assured. What matters is what kind of management transition the board presents if it does decide to remove him.
The view that succession planning will shape the removal decision can be tested by upcoming announcements. For example, if Huang is removed without any explanation of an interim CEO or a handover of management authority, the idea that securing a successor is a precondition for removal would be weakened. Conversely, if successor candidates or an interim structure come to light and Huang nonetheless stays on, it would mean the board put more weight on factors other than succession. It is also possible that a decision is made while the state of succession preparations remains undisclosed, so published information may not reveal the entire decision-making process.
The earnings call, which begins at 7 a.m. on November 18 Japan time, will be an important opportunity to gauge Nvidia's management structure. Beyond whether Huang appears or another executive presents, attention will be on what the board discloses about the independent investigation's progress and the company's future leadership. In judging Huang's future, the board's formally announced decision and the details of any succession plan will matter more than who takes the stage.