Who is Kimberly Powell? The Nvidia executive named in second Jensen Huang affair rumor

Kimberly Powell, the Nvidia executive named as the second person linked to affair rumors involving CEO Jensen Huang, is one of roughly 60 senior executives who report directly to Huang — making her one of the company's most prominent insiders.

According to Business Insider and the San Francisco Business Times, Powell first crossed paths with Nvidia while interning at a medical imaging company during her studies in electrical engineering at Northeastern University. The reports were published Wednesday (local time).

The company was building its own graphics cards to process medical image data, and Powell — then a college intern — called Nvidia directly to ask whether the technology could be used for that purpose.

She told the company she needed the technology to help doctors detect cancer early by analyzing medical images. About a year later, as Nvidia was turning its attention to healthcare, the company recruited her.

Powell joined Nvidia in 2008 as director of healthcare business development, later served as senior director of AI business development, and was promoted to vice president of healthcare in 2017. Having held the role for nine years, she is considered one of the company's longest-serving executives.

Huang has maintained a flat management structure in which roughly 60 executives report directly to him rather than through a conventional corporate hierarchy, and Powell sits within that senior group. The New York Post reported that Powell, like Huang, is married and has two children.

Powell has represented the company at technology conferences around the world, regularly taking the stage as a speaker.

When the affair rumors drew widespread media coverage, however, she immediately withdrew from a scheduled public appearance.

CNN medical correspondent Meg Tirrell posted on X, formerly Twitter, that she had been informed by organizers that Powell had canceled her participation in a session at the Milken Future of Health Summit. The event was scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Thursday at the Potomac Hotel in Washington, D.C.