NEW YORK: Nvidia shares fell sharply in after-hours trading Wednesday following a New York Times report that CEO Jensen Huang, 63, has had a close relationship with Kimberly Powell, 48, the company’s vice president of healthcare. Separately, the Wall Street Journal reported that Nvidia’s board is considering removing Huang as chief executive and is due to meet Thursday. The report comes after Huang acknowledged a relationship with Alice Huang, who has been described as a Chinese spy.
Citing current and former employees, the Times reported that Huang and Powell, who is married to someone else, were filmed together at a hotel in San Jose, California, during an Nvidia event in March. The paper said Huang’s security staff detained the person who made the recording and pressured him into signing an agreement not to disclose it. When the Times contacted Huang, he reportedly told the reporter, “you should not talk to me,” and ended the call.
Powell joined Nvidia in 2008 and oversaw areas including higher education, healthcare and the use of chip technology in medical imaging equipment. She became vice president of the company’s healthcare division by 2017.
Nvidia stock had gained more than 2% during regular trading Wednesday. After the reports emerged, it fell about 8% in after-hours trading to roughly $159 per share, wiping out around $280 billion in market value, or about Rs 26 lakh crore.