Nvidia’s board of directors said on Tuesday (November 10) that it has hired Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to conduct an investigation of CEO Jensen Huang and whether company secrets or national security was compromised, after Huang admitted to having an affair with Alice Huang, CEO of Singapore-based company MegaSpeed. Alice Hunag has been connected to Chinese intelligence.
Nvidia’s board has 10 independent members, including a former president of Taco Bell, a former Eli Lilly executive and a former vice chairman from Goldman Sachs.
In the statement, the Nvidia board said, “The independent members of the NVIDIA Board have retained former acting U.S. Neal’s experience makes him a likely key figure in the investigation, according to reports. Attorney of the Southern District of New York Joon H. Nvidia’s lead independent director and head of corporate governance is Stephen Neal. “The NVIDIA Board is initiating an independent investigation in light of recent reporting that founder and CEO Jensen Huang has been the target of a foreign intelligence effort. A committee of independent directors, assisted by outside independent counsel, will oversee the investigation. The Board prioritizes U.S. national and economic security, which is paramount to the interests of NVIDIA and its shareholders. the Board’s inquiry will examine all available information While the Board has no reason to believe that either national security or NVIDIA secrets were compromised. Jensen fully supports the review and has committed to cooperating with it. The Board has confidence in Jensen and his leadership team and will provide further updates as appropriate,” read the full statement from the board.
Kim joined the AI chip giant Nvidia in October, and he was previously the chief US prosecutor in Manhattan. Kim and his firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to conduct a thorough and independent investigation as was announced on Sunday.