Nvidia approaches Arm CEO Rene Haas in its search for Jensen Huang's successor

Nvidia (NVDA) has approached Arm Holdings (ARM) CEO Rene Haas as a possible successor to Jensen Huang, the Financial Times reports.

Haas is one of several people Nvidia's board is considering. He may not be offered the role, and he may not want it.

Arm declined to comment. Nvidia did not answer the FT's questions.

Haas knows Nvidia from the inside. Arm said when it named him CEO that he spent seven years there as vice president and general manager of its computing products business, before joining Arm in 2013. According to the FT, he is still close to Huang and to some of Nvidia's directors.

He ran Arm's IP Products Group from 2017 and became CEO in February 2022. That was the day after Nvidia and SoftBank, which owned Arm, called off Nvidia's purchase of Arm because of regulatory hurdles. Huang said at the time that Nvidia would "partner closely with Arm."

Huang resigned as CEO and left the board on Thursday. Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress is interim CEO, and the board will look at candidates from inside and outside the company. Nvidia's statement gave no reason for his exit.

CNBC notes that Huang admitted on Sunday to an affair with a woman U.S. intelligence officials believe is a Chinese spy. The New York Times then reported a second relationship, with an Nvidia vice president who reports to him.

Arm shares were down 5.2% and Nvidia shares 3.5%, as of 12:13 p.m. ET. The PHLX Semiconductor Index was down 4.6%.

Nvidia reports its third-quarter results on Tuesday, November 17, with Kress as interim CEO.

Sources & Further Reading

1. "Arm boss Rene Haas approached in Nvidia CEO search." Financial Times. November 13, 2026.
2. "Arm Appoints Rene Haas as Chief Executive Officer." Arm. February 8, 2022.
3. "NVIDIA and SoftBank Group Announce Termination of NVIDIA's Acquisition of Arm Limited." NVIDIA. February 7, 2022.
4. "NVIDIA Announces CEO Transition." NVIDIA. November 12, 2026.
5. "Nvidia stock closes down over 4% after CEO Jensen Huang announces resignation." CNBC. November 12, 2026.