Elon Musk and several business leaders publicly urged Nvidia's board not to dismiss Jensen Huang before the investigation concludes, and called for the decision regarding his fate to be left to shareholders. A personal ethical scandal is evolving into a market event impacting corporate governance, shareholder rights, and the direction of AI transactions.

On the evening of November 11, local time, The New York Times revealed Jensen Huang's second extramarital affair – a romantic relationship with subordinate Kimberly Powell. Subsequently, The Wall Street Journal reported that Nvidia's board has formed an investigative committee led by independent directors and involving external lawyers, preparing to dismiss Jensen Huang. Some directors prefer Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress to serve as interim CEO, and the company has commissioned an external recruitment agency to initiate the search for a new CEO.

In the face of potential leadership changes, several tech giants and venture capital executives called for Nvidia's board to exercise restraint through social media platforms.

Gavin Baker, managing partner and chief investment officer of Atreides Management, proposed the "vote by shareholders after the investigation concludes" plan, to which Musk responded, "Exactly." Tim Sweeney, founder and CEO of Epic Games, shouted "Save Jensen Huang"; Vinod Khosla, co-founder of Sun Microsystems and venture capitalist, echoed investor Ron Conway's call to "patiently wait for the investigation to finish."

The sudden leadership turbulence has sparked strong concerns among investors, directly impacting the capital markets. Nvidia's stock price fell sharply by 8% after hours.

"Save Jensen Huang"! Leaders speak up collectively

Regarding the potential unilateral actions by the board, business leaders questioned whether such actions would align with shareholder interests. Gavin Baker stated that Nvidia's board should wait for the investigation results and hold a shareholder vote after the investigation is complete. He pointed out that it was difficult to argue that firing Jensen Huang was in the best interests of shareholders given the 8% drop in after-hours stock price.

This stance quickly garnered support from heavyweight figures in the tech industry. Musk expressed his agreement on social media platform X.

Jason Calacanis, founder of LAUNCH, also emphasized that a better solution would be to complete the investigation and let Nvidia's shareholders decide Jensen Huang's fate after the investigation concludes, rather than letting the media or netizens decide. He revealed that he holds a long position in Nvidia and has just increased his stake, while calling on the board to conduct a large-scale stock buyback at the current price level.

Tim Sweeney, founder and CEO of Epic Games, wrote on X:

"Save Jensen Huang. If Nvidia's board does this, it would be as foolish as Apple firing Steve Jobs, and a serious harm to America. From the era of gaming graphics cards to CUDA and then to AI supercomputers, this guy is indeed a visionary driving the future of technology."

In another post, he pointed out the absurdity of replacing this era's leading tech visionary with someone who "manages the money," stating that the board's actions would burn the company at the shareholders' expense.

Vinod Khosla simply stated "Agree, Ron!" agreeing with investor Ron Conway's earlier comments to The Wall Street Journal: "While the storm is still ongoing (which I take seriously), let's pause and remember Jensen Huang's contributions to our industry with his determination and vision, which are the foundations of our work today." Ron Conway also mentioned that Jensen Huang's response has shown grace and dignity towards his family and the entire industry:

"Now we should patiently await the conclusion of the board's investigation and the relevant government departments."

Former Coinbase CTO Balaji Srinivasan's analogy was more straightforward:

"No. Bill Clinton did not resign. Jensen Huang should not resign either. Nvidia's board should not fire him. Especially while the situation is still hot. Weather the storm, ignore the reporters."

Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman previously wrote on X: "Jensen Huang is a person, and an extraordinary one at that. Extraordinary people can also make mistakes. He has taken responsibility, and we should support him and his family." He then added: "I like this guy; he has done many good things for the world. I hope this is just a simple affair."

Dylan Patel, founder and CEO of semiconductor research firm SemiAnalysis, stated on X: "For the next six months, nothing will happen to Jensen Huang, and this story will largely subside in the media/financial world. But Democrats will call him to Congress, they will conduct a thorough investigation into the GPU sales of relevant companies, and then bombard him with a lot of questions. That will be when the shoe potentially drops."

The suspense of 6 votes: Can the board represent shareholders?

What truly determines Jensen Huang's fate is the number of votes from the board, not the volume on X.

Nvidia's board currently consists of 11 members, of which 10 are independent directors aside from founder Jensen Huang. According to Article 32 of the company's internal regulations revised in March 2024, any executive can be removed at any time by a majority of the serving directors, with or without reason. With 11 board members, a majority means 6 votes. Ordinary resolutions require a majority of the attending directors, while the removal of executives is based on the total number of serving directors, which has a stricter threshold. Jensen Huang's vote against would not matter; 6 votes from the other 10 independent directors would be enough.

The company's shares have one vote per share, with no super voting rights. The issue is that Jensen Huang benefits from holding 3.58% of the shares, while the other ten directors hold approximately 0.31% in total. In other words, should it come to a board vote to determine Jensen Huang's dismissal, his fate will be decided by board members who do not adequately represent shareholder interests.

Concerns from the capital side are more closely related to positions. Market discussions suggest that Wall Street worries Jensen Huang might resign, "many fund managers will reduce their holdings in Nvidia in the coming weeks." In contrast, retail investors are looking more at precedents - "Bezos had an affair, Bill Gates had an affair, Elon Musk also had an affair," but none affected the companies.

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