Nvidia Board Denies Approaching Arm's Rene Haas for CEO Role

Nvidia's board says it has "not yet formally reached out to any potential candidate" for the chief executive job, denying reports it approached Arm CEO Rene Haas as a successor to Jensen Huang, according to CNBC on the 13th.

"Any speculation about specific individual candidates, whether internal or external, is premature," the board said in a statement. "We are in the process of selecting an outside search firm for the CEO position."

The denial pushes back against a Financial Times report, citing multiple sources, that the board had contacted Haas about the top job. The FT said it remains unclear whether Haas was actually offered the position or would accept it.

What does this change for the CEO race?

Practically speaking, it resets the timeline. The board hasn't even picked the executive search firm yet, so a decision on Huang's successor is expected to take considerable time. Nvidia named CFO Colette Kress interim CEO after Huang stepped down on the 12th amid a personal scandal and a security-related controversy, and launched a search covering candidates from both inside and outside the company.

Haas fits the external profile well. He worked at Nvidia from 2006 to 2013, rising to vice president, and reportedly maintains close ties with senior executives from that era. He joined Arm in 2013 and has led the company since 2022. His track record includes steering Arm's Nasdaq listing in 2023, which established his credentials as a chip industry executive in his own right.

The two companies share history. Nvidia pursued an acquisition of Arm in 2020 but abandoned the deal after competition authorities in the United States, Europe and the United Kingdom raised concerns about potential market dominance. Japan's SoftBank Group currently holds about 86% of Arm. Haas also serves as CEO of SoftBank Group International, overseeing the conglomerate's overseas businesses alongside his Arm role.

Who else is on the list?

Several names have surfaced since Huang's exit. The internal field:

• Colette Kress, chief financial officer and current interim CEO
• Ian Buck, vice president

External candidates mentioned in reports include AMD CEO Lisa Su, Apple board executive chairman Tim Cook, and Apple hardware chief Johny Srouji.

Members of Huang's family were once mentioned as possible successors, including Madison and Spencer Huang, who work at Nvidia, plus Vice President Nico Caprez. Their chances are now seen as diminished following Huang's departure from the company.

The stakes are unusually high. Huang founded Nvidia in 1993 and led it for 33 years, and market interest in the selection is intense.

Calls for Huang's return grow

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk publicly backed Huang's reinstatement. On X, formerly Twitter, Musk said a petition was under way to bring Huang back and that he would sign it.

Similar sentiment exists inside Nvidia. U.S. technology outlet Wired reported that a long-serving Nvidia engineer posted a message on an internal message board urging the company to consider employee views during the leadership transition. The post drew more than 1,600 comments, many supporting Huang's return, according to the report.

For now, the board's message is procedural: no shortlist exists, no candidate has been contacted, and the search firm selection comes first. Everything else, the board says, is premature.