Kimberly Powell, a long-time Nvidia executive who rose from director to vice president of healthcare, finds herself at the center of a scandal involving her alleged romantic relationship with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. The New York Times reported that Huang and Powell, who work together at the tech giant, were seen being affectionate at a hotel in San Jose during the company's annual developer conference in March. The report also claims that the interaction was captured on video.
Powell joined Nvidia in 2008, working her way up through the ranks. She initially focused on promoting the use of Nvidia's artificial intelligence chips in medical imaging before moving into business development and eventually becoming vice president of healthcare. Prior to joining Nvidia, she worked as an engineer and product developer at an electronics startup.
The alleged relationship between Huang and Powell comes amid a separate controversy involving Huang's affair with Chinese businesswoman Alice Huang, which has been linked to the shipment of Nvidia chips to Chinese companies by US intelligence officials. Both Huang, Powell, and Nvidia declined to comment on the matter.
The latest revelations have brought attention to Nvidia's workplace conduct policies, which identify personal relationships as one of the activities that could create a conflict of interest. The company's code of conduct states that it promptly investigates reports of misconduct.
Recently, there have been reports suggesting that Nvidia's board is planning to remove Jensen Huang from his position as CEO following revelations about his extramarital relationships. This development comes amid claims that the company is preparing to replace Huang as CEO, causing a drop in the company's shares and raising concerns about leadership uncertainty at the tech giant.