Trump Wants Tim Cook at Nvidia. Who Actually Picks the CEO?

Nvidia’s board gets to pick its next chief executive. It had already made its first decision on November 12, when co-founder Jensen Huang resigned as CEO, president and a director, effective immediately. The company put finance chief Colette Kress in charge on an interim basis. Later that day, US President Donald Trump suggested on Truth Social that the chipmaker hire Tim Cook, who ran Apple for 15 years and still chairs its board.

What exactly did Trump say about Tim Cook?

Trump praised Huang for doing a “fantastic job” and wrote that there was “only one man to take his place,” naming Cook. The post came after Nvidia announced Huang’s exit. Trump was publicly recommending a candidate. Nvidia’s announcement named no contenders, and Apple and Cook did not immediately respond to Reuters. There is no public confirmation that Nvidia approached Cook or that he wants the job.

Who can actually give Cook the job?

Nvidia’s directors can. The company is incorporated in Delaware, where corporate law says a vacancy in an executive office is filled according to the company’s bylaws, the rules that govern how it operates. Nvidia’s bylaws list the CEO among the officers the board can designate and say the board may fill a vacant executive post.

The directors have already appointed a temporary CEO. They say they will consider candidates from inside and outside Nvidia for the permanent role. They can choose an existing executive or offer the job to someone elsewhere, who would then have to accept. Trump’s post gives Cook a public endorsement. It gives the president no formal part in the decision.

What job does Tim Cook have now?

Cook is Apple’s executive chair. He handed the CEO job to John Ternus, who previously ran Apple’s hardware engineering team, on September 1. Ternus leads Apple’s business. Cook chairs its board and still has an active role, which Apple says includes working with policymakers around the world.

Apple announced the change in April, more than four months before Ternus took over, and said its directors had approved it unanimously after long-term planning. At Nvidia, the board named a temporary chief on the day it announced Huang’s immediate departure. That leaves it time to choose who takes the job permanently.

Who is running Nvidia while it looks?

Kress runs the company as interim CEO and keeps her job as chief financial officer. She has led Nvidia’s finances since 2013. The board also appointed longtime director Harvey C. Jones its first-ever chair. Jones leads the board. Kress leads the business under its oversight.

The directors said they would consider people already at Nvidia, so they could make Kress’s appointment permanent. Their announcement gave no shortlist or deadline and did not say whether Kress was seeking the permanent job.

Can Huang or Nvidia’s shareholders vote on Cook?

Shareholders elect the directors who make the hiring decision. Nvidia’s 2026 annual meeting, for instance, asked investors to vote on board seats. Its bylaws assign the job of filling an executive vacancy to the board, so shareholders get no separate ballot on Cook or another CEO candidate.

Huang resigned from the board as well as from his executive jobs. He therefore has no board vote on his replacement. His departure from the board is important in a company he co-founded and led for 33 years. The directors making the choice now have to decide which parts of his strategy they want a new chief to carry forward.

Does Huang’s resignation settle the board inquiry?

The board opened an independent investigation on November 8 after reports that Huang had been targeted by a foreign intelligence effort. It said then that it had no reason to believe US national security or Nvidia’s secrets had been compromised. Thursday’s announcement dealt with the leadership change and gave no findings from that inquiry.

Three US House committee chairs had separately asked Huang to appear for a closed-door briefing on November 18. Their letter was about the reported intelligence concerns and Nvidia’s security procedures. It was a request for Huang to appear. The committee statement did not confirm that he had agreed.

What does the handover mean for India’s AI projects?

Nvidia’s board said it expected customer commitments and product plans to continue without interruption. Indian data-centre operator Yotta offers a concrete example of what those commitments can involve. In February, it announced a plan to deploy 20,736 Nvidia Blackwell Ultra chips, with its Greater Noida campus as the main site. It also announced a four-year arrangement under which Nvidia would establish a cloud computing cluster within that project.

For an Indian company relying on that computing power, the practical questions are when the chips arrive, when the machines go live and when customers can use them. Nvidia’s handover announcement contained no revised timetable for Yotta.

When will we hear from Nvidia again?

Nvidia says it will report quarterly results on November 17 in the US, followed by an earnings call at 3:30 a.m. IST on November 18. That is a chance to hear what the interim leadership says about chip deliveries, customer commitments and the company’s plans. The date comes from the earnings calendar. The board has given no date for naming a permanent CEO.