Hardline U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent: “Jensen Huang’s Successor Must Be Found Outside Nvidia”

[Financial News] U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has spoken out about the controversy surrounding Jensen Huang, Nvidia’s former CEO, saying his successor should be brought in from outside the company.
Bloomberg reported on the 15th (local time) that Secretary Scott Bessent appeared on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” that day and said, “Nvidia needs a major overhaul,” adding, “I think the board should look outside the company when it searches for a new leader.”
He also said he wanted to know whether Nvidia had deliberately ignored warning signs that shell companies in places such as Singapore were secretly transferring semiconductor chips to China.
Secretary Bessent added, “I want to find out what Nvidia’s corporate culture was like and whether it pushed ahead with sales that appeared illegal in order to boost revenue and earnings,” and said, “I think the board and its outside legal advisers should provide answers within the next 10 days.”
It is notable that the Treasury secretary has publicly weighed in on the appointment of a company’s CEO.
Bloomberg explained that Bessent appears to be trying to frame the matter as a national security issue rather than dismiss it as a personal scandal involving former CEO Huang.
Earlier, revelations emerged that former CEO Huang had an extramarital relationship with Alice Huang, a former MegaSpeed executive suspected of being a Chinese spy. MegaSpeed was reportedly used as a conduit for shipping Nvidia semiconductors to China.
It seems that not only Nvidia but also Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who is responsible for export controls, will have difficulty avoiding responsibility.
Secretary Bessent stressed, “Many agencies were pushing for sanctions against MegaSpeed, and the U.S. Department of Commerce had the final say.”
However, responding to calls to legislate restrictions on semiconductor technology exports, he said, “There is no need for legislation. The necessary regulations are already in place; they just need to be enforced.”

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