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ilaksh | on: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's letter to staff about affair
Take this with a grain of salt, but my guess is that the board on some level has to judge him as being so high performing that they would try to keep him as long as that doesn't cause too much PR damage to the company, or the deals get them in too much trouble with the government.

This is just a total guess, but I assume what a lot of the board want is for him to sell as much to China or indirect channels as he can get away with. So whatever these deals were that involved this woman, they probably want him to get those deals through it he can get away with it (although they wouldn't admit it).

I see this more or less as Huang doing his job. And relative to international expectations at that level of wealth, one public affair is probably not something most of the board (presumably largely male) is going to (privately) judge him for.

So if the board is investigating, I assume what they are trying to figure out is if the US government is going to do anything (probably not) or waiting to see if there is going to be some kind of public demand for him to be removed. Or it there is something likely to come out that will cause either of those things.

avazhi | parent | next
The board is investigating because the woman he had the affair with is a Chinese spy.

Neither the board nor the US government nor investors nor the average person gives a shit about a CEO having an affair as long it doesn't compromise his ability to do his job well.

ramraj07 | root | parent | next
What OP is implying is that the Board likely implicitly condoned any effort Jensen would take to make sales to China including making underhanded deals that look like honeypot operations but may as well have been a double honeypot operation. The implication is that the outcome of said affair was actually good for Nvidia. You imply that the interests of Nvidia and the US government and by extension the US public are aligned. That’s a citation-needed level assumption. Nvidia just wants to make money. The government hopefully has different interests.
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bzax | root | parent | next
Just to be clear, alleged spy, and working for a foreign government which wants to do a tremendous amount of incredibly profitable business with the company. Which he should be carefully weighing against the very real legal risks when the US government doesn't want that business to happen. And if he can't remain impartial, the board should be concerned about whether he can make the right decision for shareholders about that risk/profit.
seanmcdirmid | root | parent | next
Alleged Chinese spy unless I’m reading the article wrong? A Chinese intelligence asset could mean someone who just had CPC membership in college. Not that I’m saying Alice Huang isn’t a spy, I just would want more information before deciding.
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dcrazy | root | parent | next
She was also the CEO of a large customer. That sounds like it could impact his job performance.
dannyw | root | parent
Chinese spy can mean everything from “sell us more GPUs to China or I leak our affair” (which I think NVDA would be very happy with - they’ve already admitted to chip diversion, and their senior execs have been arrested for the same) to trade secrets being given to Huawei.

IMHO, I’m speculating, but I think the affair could’ve happened first, and then the MSS got involved for access and blackmail.

There is, after all, statistically a high correlation with rich billionaires and infidelity…

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noitpmeder | parent | next
It's unfortunate how it's perfectly rational for a board to want their CEOs doing just enough fraud/backchanneling/cosying-up-to-suspect-world-leaders to maximize shareholder value, as long as they're not getting caught/... in ways that overall minimize shareholder value.
pjjpo | root | parent | next
I don't think it's rational for boards to encourage fraud, as it is illegal, nor does it happen much. The others sure.
unsupp0rted | root | parent
That's not unfortunate: that's the way the system is designed to work:

* Corps maximize shareholder value

* Govs make laws/penalties to avoid too much harm/risk by corps

* Press keeps everybody accountable

It's great when everybody's doing what they're supposed to do, which obviously isn't often enough.

Unfortunate is when corps are so in bed with gov that they don't bother innovating or growing, and when press is so in bed with gov that they might as well not exist at all.

steele | parent | next
Sure, if by high performing you mean fully assuming the lions share of risk when establishing monopoly via personal enmeshment with a corrupt political administration on the verge of sunset. His job for this board could very well be gone-rogue fall-guy. Doubly so when the regulatory bodies will be eagerly looking for those among the "thought you were one of the good ones" cohort of power.
jfrbfbreudh | root | parent
I think he meant, look at the chart, and not whatever you just typed up.
steele | root | parent
Chart analysis of bigger-number-better is accelerating past 1 recession per decade.
novia | parent
> one public affair is probably not something most of the board (presumably largely male) is going to (privately) judge him for.

So male infidelity is not a big deal?

mlmonkey | root | parent | next
On Wall Street, no.
ctkhn | root | parent | next
I think it was Francois Hollande who was photographed while in office on his vespa leaving the presidential palace to see his mistress
GolfPopper | root | parent
Surely you weren't under the impression that the executive class is honest?