Pressure is mounting on Nvidia’s (NASDAQ: NVDA) board to reconsider Jensen Huang’s departure as chief executive officer, with an online petition demanding his reinstatement gaining traction.
The Stand with Jensen campaign had collected 145,878 signatures as of press time, including 77,975 people identifying themselves as Nvidia shareholders, 7,273 current employees, and 1,350 former employees. Another 59,280 supporters were listed separately.
Employee participation is particularly notable, with the 7,273 current Nvidia workers representing about 17.32% of the technology company’s reported workforce of 42,000. The figures are self-reported and have not been independently verified.
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Huang’s resignation from Nvidia
The campaign comes three days after Huang resigned as Nvidia’s CEO and board member on November 12, following controversy surrounding his personal relationships and reports of a possible foreign intelligence operation.
Support for his return is growing, with influential investors and technology executives joining calls for the chipmaker to reinstate its co-founder.
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) and SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX) CEO Elon Musk has emerged as a prominent supporter, publicly endorsing the campaign and signing the petition on November 13.
Other notable supporters include Replit CEO Amjad Masad, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan, Cohere co-founder Aidan Gomez and Andreessen Horowitz general partner Marc Andreessen.
The petition calls on Nvidia’s board to reinstate Huang while an independent investigation establishes the circumstances surrounding his departure. It also seeks a fair hearing for the former CEO and greater transparency about the board’s decision.
However, the campaign is independent of Nvidia and Huang, and the company has not indicated plans to reverse its leadership decision.
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Pressure not to appoint permanent replacement
Pressure is also mounting from major investors, with Altimeter Capital CEO Brad Gerstner and Atreides Management managing partner Gavin Baker urging Nvidia’s board not to rush into appointing a permanent successor.
In a November 13 letter, the investors urged directors to keep Huang’s potential return open while the investigation progresses. Their firms collectively held approximately 10.6 million Nvidia shares as of June 30.
Baker has also publicly backed the reinstatement petition, with both investors emphasizing the need to establish the facts before making a permanent leadership decision.
Separately, an internal company post urging the board to consider employee sentiment before making a permanent leadership decision reportedly attracted more than 1,600 comments.
Huang’s departure followed reports concerning his personal relationships, including allegations involving a woman suspected by US authorities of having links to Chinese intelligence.
The controversy prompted Nvidia’s board to launch an independent investigation into whether its co-founder had been targeted by a foreign intelligence operation. The allegations have not been conclusively established.
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Following his resignation, Nvidia appointed Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress as interim CEO and began searching for a permanent replacement.
Despite the growing reinstatement campaign, Nvidia has not announced plans to reverse its decision. The board is expected to consider both internal and external candidates for the permanent position.
