Bessent urges Nvidia board to appoint chief executive from outside

Developing story first seen 2 hours ago

CNBC · 2 hours ago

The main development is that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has broadened his criticism of Nvidia, saying the company needs a “dramatic shakeup” and urging its board to choose a chief executive from outside the firm. He questioned whether Nvidia pursued suspected illicit chip sales to raise earnings and said executives beyond former CEO Jensen Huang should face scrutiny over export-control compliance.

Bessent’s remarks come amid a dispute with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick over suspected diversions of Nvidia chips to China; both are expected to accompany President Donald Trump to China this week. Huang resigned on Thursday after revelations about his relationship with Alice Huang, a former Megaspeed executive suspected by US intelligence of spying for China. Nvidia appointed finance chief Colette Kress interim CEO, while Bessent also questioned the company’s disclosures after reported Singapore revenue rose as China sales fell; Nvidia stopped reporting Singapore revenue separately in November 2025.

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In short

Bessent wants Nvidia to appoint an outside chief executive.
He says scrutiny should extend beyond Jensen Huang.
Suspected chip diversions to China remain under investigation.

How this story developed

34 minutes ago Bessent widened his criticism, saying executives beyond Jensen Huang should face scrutiny over export-control compliance and comparing the case with regulatory action against a bank; Nvidia said it had changed how it allocated sales by geography before ending separate Singapore revenue reporting in November 2025.
40 minutes ago Scott Bessent called for a “dramatic shakeup” at Nvidia, urging its board to appoint a chief executive from outside the company and questioning whether it pursued suspected illicit chip sales to boost earnings.