Bryan Catanzaro, NVIDIA's vice president of applied deep learning research, said on November 13 that a letter demanding the return of founder Jensen Huang, which he was said to have been involved in, is "clearly fake." While saying he is deeply saddened by Huang's departure, he expressed his full support for the board and interim CEO Colette Kress.
Meanwhile, NVIDIA employees have reportedly been calling for an explanation of the circumstances behind Huang's departure, and for his return. However, employees calling for his return is one matter; whether a letter bearing executives' names is genuine is another. To understand this episode, it is necessary to distinguish among statements by individual executives, reactions inside the company, and the board's formal decisions.
Saddened by Huang's departure, but backing current leadership
In a post on X on November 13, Catanzaro explained that a letter he was claimed to have been involved in was circulating online, and declared it "clearly fake." He added that even if the letter were genuine, he would not sign it. While expressing deep sadness that Huang has left NVIDIA, he said he fully supports the board and trusts its judgment. He also praised Kress, with whom he has worked for many years, as an exceptional leader and voiced his full support for her.
The statement shows that his regret over Huang's departure coexists with support for the board and the new leadership structure. Catanzaro himself, at least, is not taking the position of challenging the board by demanding Huang's return.
In a separate post on X on November 13, Daniel Zhang pointed out that the circulating letter was simply a version of a letter written during the 2023 turmoil at OpenAI, with the names swapped out. However, it remains unclear who created the letter or with what intent it was spread. Nor have the results been made public of any verification of whether everyone listed in the signature block actually signed it.
Employee calls for Huang's return are separate from collective action by executives
The letter Catanzaro denied involvement in was circulated as a joint demand by NVIDIA executives that the board bring Huang back. Separately, however, WIRED, which reviewed internal communications, has reported that NVIDIA employees have been calling for Huang's return.
According to WIRED's November 12 report, a longtime NVIDIA engineer used an internal discussion forum, before Huang's resignation, to urge the board to consider employees' wishes before taking any action. The post drew more than 1,600 comments, several of which called for Huang's return.
However, the 1,600 figure is a count of comments, not the number of employees supporting his return or a tally of signatures. The same employee may have commented multiple times, so the number cannot be used to gauge support across the workforce.
WIRED reported that the internal post also called for the board to share the results of its investigation and for a formal check of employees' wishes on whether Huang should remain CEO. Another employee sent a company-wide email asking for transparency about Huang's departure. The engineer who made the internal post declined to comment to WIRED, and the sender of the company-wide email could not be reached. Neither NVIDIA nor Harvey C. Jones, newly appointed board chair, had responded at the time of reporting.
The scope of what can be confirmed differs by source, as summarized below.
Differences among the letter's denial, internal reactions and the formal leadership structure
| Source / date | Actor and subject | What can be confirmed | Scope of the information |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catanzaro's post, Nov. 13 | Catanzaro personally, and the letter using his name | Denies involvement in the letter; supports the board and Kress | His own stance |
| WIRED report, Nov. 12 | NVIDIA's internal discussion forum | More than 1,600 comments; employees calling for Huang's return and for explanations | A comment count, not a number of supporters or a vote result |
| NVIDIA's official announcement, Nov. 12 | The board and leadership structure | Kress appointed interim CEO; search for a permanent successor begins | The formal leadership structure decided and announced by the company |
Note: This table organizes each source's originator, subject, timing and decision-making authority; it is not a quantitative comparison on a common basis.
Catanzaro's denial concerns only his own involvement and intent. It does not refute the internal calls for Huang's return reported by WIRED. Likewise, the fact that some employees are calling for his return does not mean executives have organized a revolt against the board. For now, the letter's authenticity, employee reactions and the company's formal personnel decisions should each be treated as independent pieces of information.
New leadership's execution to be tested at the November 17 earnings report
In its official announcement on November 12, NVIDIA said Huang had resigned immediately as president, CEO and director. CFO Kress will serve concurrently as interim CEO until a permanent successor is named. The board plans to proceed with selecting a permanent CEO from among internal and external candidates.
Kress has led the company's finance organization as CFO since joining NVIDIA in September 2013. As part of the leadership change, Harvey C. Jones became the company's first board chair. In the official announcement, Jones expressed full confidence in Kress and the management team, and said business operations, customer commitments and the product roadmap would continue without interruption.
The next opportunity to check the new leadership's direction is the fiscal 2027 third-quarter earnings report scheduled for November 17. NVIDIA plans to release results at around 1:20 p.m. U.S. Pacific time that day (around 6:20 a.m. on the 18th in Japan), followed by a briefing at 2:00 p.m. (7:00 a.m. on the 18th in Japan). With some employees lamenting Huang's departure and some executives backing the current leadership, attention will be on what Kress says about business continuity and commitments to customers.