Arm CEO René Haas Reportedly Contacted as Nvidia Successor

Nvidia's board has reportedly contacted Arm CEO René Haas as a potential candidate to replace Jensen Huang, according to the Financial Times. The outreach is one of several developments since Huang's sudden resignation on Thursday amid disclosures of extramarital relationships, including an association with an individual suspected of spying for China.

Colette Kress is serving as interim chief executive while the board recruits an executive search firm to oversee the CEO selection process, and the Financial Times says Haas is among multiple names under consideration.

Board process and candidate status

The board has told investors it is in the process of appointing a search firm for the CEO search. The Financial Times reports that Haas is one of several external candidates being reviewed, but the board cautioned that no offer has been made and no formal negotiations have taken place. In a statement, the board said, "It is still too early to speak about any candidates, internal or external."

Internal efforts to reinstate Huang and public backing

Separately, reports say some Nvidia employees are campaigning to restore Jensen Huang. An internal post from a long‑time Nvidia engineer has drawn more than 1,600 comments urging the board to find a way to bring Huang back; Nvidia employs about 42,000 people worldwide. Elon Musk posted on X that a petition to reinstate Huang is underway and that he will sign it, though it is not clear whether he was referring to the same internal effort.

Huang resigned after disclosures about his personal relationships created a crisis for the chipmaker and sent shock waves through the AI industry. Colette Kress, Nvidia's chief financial officer, is serving as interim CEO during the transition.

René Haas became Arm's chief executive in 2022 and led the company's initial public offering on Nasdaq in 2023. Arm designs processor architectures and licenses those designs to other chipmakers; the company has been historically strong in mobile and is expanding into the PC market. Before joining Arm in 2013, Haas spent seven years at Nvidia, rising to vice president and general manager of the computing products group.

At the close of trading yesterday, Arm shares in the United States fell about 5 percent and Nvidia shares fell about 2 percent. The moves contributed to a cumulative decline in Nvidia's market value this week of roughly $573 billion.