Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang had affair with direct report, NYT reports

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, 63, who is already under scrutiny over an alleged affair with a woman identified as a Chinese spy, also carried on an extramarital relationship with a direct subordinate at the company, The New York Times reported Wednesday (local time). The other party is Kimberly Powell, 48, Nvidia's vice president of healthcare. Both Huang and Powell are married.

According to the report, Huang and Powell were seen displaying affection at a hotel near the site of Nvidia's annual developer conference, GTC, held in San Jose, California, in March.

Three people familiar with the matter said a witness at the scene recorded the encounter on a mobile phone. Huang's security team then isolated the witness and had the person sign a nondisclosure agreement.

When The New York Times reached Huang by phone and asked about his relationship with Powell, he said, "I don't think you should be contacting me directly," and immediately hung up.

Nvidia declined to comment, and Powell did not respond to requests for comment.

Nvidia's code of conduct states that employees must "avoid situations where our actions, including personal relationships, create a conflict of interest," and that the company will launch an immediate investigation upon receiving reports of workplace misconduct.

Many US companies maintain strict policies prohibiting romantic relationships between supervisors and subordinates.

Powell joined Nvidia in 2008 and has overseen programs applying the company's chip technology to higher education, healthcare and, in particular, medical imaging. Powell was promoted to senior director of AI business development in 2016 and named vice president of healthcare in late 2017. Powell has represented the company at technology conferences around the world. At the GTC conference in March, Powell delivered a presentation on AI-driven innovation in healthcare and biology, using a cartoon likeness of Huang.

Huang's standing has been eroding amid a series of extramarital scandal revelations.

After Huang acknowledged an affair with Alice Huang, a woman identified as a Chinese spy, Nvidia's board launched an independent investigation through a major law firm. The US Congress has also called on Huang to testify in a closed-door briefing about the nature of his contact with Alice Huang.

Meanwhile, the Chinese government has denied the espionage allegations, and Alice Huang has not responded to requests for comment.