Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has been accused of a second extramarital affair, this time with Kimberly Powell – the company’s vice president of healthcare. Five people who worked for the chipmaker told the “New York Times“ that the two had a relationship.
According to their accounts, Huang and Powell were filmed appearing close at a hotel in San Jose during an Nvidia conference in March. The two later attended the GTC conference in Berlin at the end of October. Around the same time, Powell was seen wearing an engagement ring. Both Huang and Powell are married to other people.
Nvidia shares plunge
The new allegations put pressure on Nvidia shares. In premarket trading in New York, the stock fell by nearly 9%, wiping about $360 billion off the company’s market value. The total decline for the week reached approximately $640 billion, or 14%.
The scandal erupts at a time when Nvidia is already facing scrutiny over Huang’s acknowledged relationship with Chinese businesswoman Alice Huang. She is under investigation on suspicion of passing information to Beijing. Huang himself admitted to company employees that he had a relationship with her, but the espionage allegations have not been proven.
Powell is a longtime executive at the company
Kimberly Powell joined Nvidia in 2008. In 2016, she was promoted to senior director of artificial intelligence business development, and at the end of 2017 she became vice president of healthcare.
In this role, she oversees programs for using Nvidia’s technologies in higher education and healthcare, including medical imaging devices. In March, Powell took part in the GTC conference in San Jose, where she spoke about the application of artificial intelligence in medicine and biology. Huang unexpectedly joined her on stage.
If the allegations about their relationship are confirmed, they could raise questions about compliance with Nvidia’s internal code, which requires employees to avoid situations in which personal relationships could conflict with their professional responsibilities.
Board discusses Huang’s future
Nvidia’s board has already begun investigating Huang’s relationship with Alice Huang, with the review being conducted by the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. According to people familiar with the matter, the directors are preparing to remove him as CEO and had scheduled a meeting about his future as early as Wednesday.
Republican leaders of three influential House committees have asked Huang to take part in a closed-door briefing about his contacts with Alice Huang.
“I don’t think you should speak directly with me,” Huang said when the “New York Times“ tried to ask him about his relationship with Powell, after which he ended the conversation. Nvidia has not publicly confirmed the allegations of a second affair.