logoalt Hacker News

bartread • today at 12:14 AM • 5 replies • view on HN

I said on this a few days ago that he should be thinking about resigning: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50418016

At the time I didn't think it would happen because of impact on Nvidia's stock price, but at that point we didn't know about his second affair - with Kimberly Powell.

I'd suggest this latest revelation makes his position untenable, especially if the board found out about the second affair via a source other than Huang himself. He should have spilled the beans on that when the first affair came out, not that it would necessarily have saved him, but withholding the information - if that's what he did - should condemn him. It's another serious lapse in judgement and a failure of integrity that is not befitting of one of the most powerful corporate leaders on earth.

Goodness knows how his wife is feeling at this point. Certainly makes his apology from a couple of days back ring rather hollow.

EDIT: The fact that someone like Jensen Huang - who I'd previously considered to be an incredibly smart guy as opposed to a nitwit - can somehow completely implode his life in almost the most ridiculous way imaginable does give me some hope that at least some of the troublemaker ne'er do wells that have wielded so much power over us all over the past decade or so might also experience some just desserts in the not too distant future.


Replies

zaptheimpaler • today at 12:27 AM

Someone mentioned that the 2nd affair was known about by the board for a long time, and this is pretty common in boards. They don't really care, they just keep it in their pocket until they need the ammo to fire someone. It sounds right to me, affairs are very hard to keep secret for someone that public, and then this news dropped right after the first one.

As bad as cheating is morally, we don't really know how his wife feels or if they had some open relationship type arrangement, and it's not really material to his running the company because it's been doing very well during all of that. I don't think it makes much sense to fire someone over this, it's more like a power struggle with other parties vying for control.

➕ show 2 replies
01100011 • today at 1:50 AM

> who I'd previously considered to be an incredibly smart guy

This is a common fallacy. Often being incredibly smart in a few areas leaves you incredibly naive in others. If nothing else, your success in some domains will lead to overconfidence in others.

jhallenworld • today at 1:09 AM

Yeah, he should leave. Next earnings call is Nov 17, he needs to be out by then so that he is not a distraction (CFO could do the call).

As a large shareholder and world's 7th [now 12th] richest person he would certainly retain a lot of power, even with a new CEO. Time to start his own personal VC firm or something.

There is some nepotism at Nvidia, those people are likely going to be very annoyed with him since their positions may not now be tenable.

TSLA's board also needs to do its job.

➕ show 1 reply
GuinansEyebrows • today at 1:13 AM

> It's another serious lapse in judgement and a failure of integrity that is not befitting of one of the most powerful corporate leaders on earth.

failure of integrity is the operating mode for the most powerful corporate leaders on earth.

paulpauper • today at 12:16 AM

I'm sure he was thinking about it. doesn't mean he has to. now he probably will