From HP and Intel to McDonald's and CBS, 'U.S. CEO Scandals' Revisited...

[Financial News] The dismissal of Jensen Huang, former CEO of U.S. artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor company NVIDIA, has brought scandals involving CEOs of major U.S. companies back into the spotlight.
The New York Times (NYT) and other outlets reported on the 12th, local time, that former CEOs of computer and printer maker HP and renowned department-store chain Kohl's met their downfall for reasons similar to those involving former CEO Huang.
Mark Hurd, the former CEO who built HP into a powerful technology company, was dismissed by the board in 2010. The reasons were that he had not disclosed how company funds were used and had an 'intimate personal relationship' with a representative of an outside contractor. He returned in 2014 as co-CEO of business software company Oracle and died in 2019.
Larry Ellison, Oracle's chairman, who had brought Hurd on as co-CEO because of their personal friendship after Hurd was forced out of HP, was himself reportedly romantically involved with multiple female employees in the past. After five divorces, his current wife is from China.


Last year, former Kohl's CEO Ashley Buchanan was fired after trying to steer business to Buchanan's romantic partner, who was also a supplier representative. That same year, former CEO Rodney McMullen of major grocery chain The Kroger Company was also dismissed; the reason announced was inappropriate 'personal conduct.'
In 2018, former Intel CEO Brian Krzanich resigned after it emerged that he had previously had a 'consensual relationship' with an employee.
The board of global hamburger chain McDonald's dismissed former CEO Steve Easterbrook in 2019, saying that he too had had a 'consensual relationship' with an employee. Later, another McDonald's employee reported having had sex with Easterbrook, and he returned about $150 million in cash and stock to the company, along with an apology.
The CEOs of Intel and McDonald's left in disgrace during the #MeToo wave. The direct reason they had to step down was a 'consensual relationship,' but in the case of former CEO Easterbrook, the #MeToo movement also played a role.
At the time, CBS Corporation CEO Leslie Moonves resigned without receiving a penny in severance pay after multiple women accused him of sexual harassment.


Unlike CEOs who, like these men, were all but forced to pack up and leave over scandals inside or outside their companies, some CEOs have weathered scandals and remained in place.
In 2019, U.S. entertainment outlets reported a string of rumors that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos was having an affair. His partner was Lauren Sánchez, a former broadcast journalist, and Bezos and Sánchez reportedly dated while each was separated from their spouse. That year, Bezos eventually divorced his ex-wife, and he married Sánchez last June. Bezos remains chairman of Amazon's board.
Google co-founder Sergey Brin divorced his wife in 2015 after living separately for several years. U.S. media reported at the time that Brin was having an affair with Amanda Rosenberg, a female Google employee 14 years his junior. Brin has since stepped back from day-to-day management but is reportedly still influential and retains a role within the company.
Bill Gates, Microsoft's (MS) founder, was recently embroiled in allegations that he had befriended Jeffrey Epstein, the billionaire sex offender who has since died, and contracted a sexually transmitted disease through an extramarital affair. Bill Gates acknowledged that his affair partners included a Russian card-game player and a Russian nuclear physicist.
There have also been cases of leading tech company CEOs in Silicon Valley being ousted for reasons that seem unrelated to infidelity or the #MeToo movement.


Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs was forced out in 1985 following an internal power struggle and the failure of a new technology launch, but returned in 2000. He went on to have a legendary tenure as Apple's CEO.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was abruptly ousted by the board in 2023, but returned as CEO five days later after allies, including company employees and investors, demanded his reinstatement.
Meanwhile, NVIDIA's board announced that CEO Jensen Huang would resign immediately as president and CEO and as a member of the board. It emerged that former CEO Huang had been having an affair with Alice Huang, a former executive at Singaporean company Megaspeed, whom U.S. intelligence agencies suspect of being a Chinese spy.
After co-founding NVIDIA in 1993, former CEO Huang grew the company into a leader in the global AI semiconductor market, but was forced out 33 years later as the scandal involving Alice Huang spread.

[email protected] Lee Seok-woo, international affairs specialist Reporter