Apple, Alphabet and Uber survived major founder transitions. Nvidia will be a harder test

Jensen Huang, chief executive officer of Nvidia Corp., during a Bloomberg Television interview in London, UK, on Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026.

Jose Sarmento Matos | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Jensen Huang is not the first CEO to leave a company he helped build.

But experts told CNBC that his sudden resignation from Nvidia at a critical juncture is unique and leaves his eventual successor with challenges in leading the company that's powering the artificial intelligence boom.

In 33 years, Huang, who resigned on Thursday amid reports of extramarital affairs, including with a woman U.S. intelligence believes is a spy for China, made the company he co-founded the world's most valuable.

Former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein wrote on X that he was "indispensable" but "the graveyards are filled with indispensable men," referencing a quote attributed to French leader Charles de Gaulle.

While the board looks for a new CEO and CFO Colette Kress does the job temporarily; analysts say Huang's charisma and bullish drive will be hard to replicate.

"I'm not sure we've seen a situation quite like this, where the founder and CEO of one of the world's largest companies faces such a sudden departure amid scandal," Michael Withers, professor of management at the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business, told CNBC.

Whoever follows will "face challenges that go well beyond those of a typical CEO replacing a founder," he added.

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When founders step back

Apple's image was inseparable from Steve Jobs when he resigned in 2011. But unlike Nvidia, the company had had other CEOs — and an internal successor.

Tim Cook invested in Apple's chip strategy and services business and became a key corporate diplomat in dealings with the U.S. and Chinese governments. He was known as an operator who controlled Apple's supply chain.

Cook had "considerable preparation" for becoming CEO, Withers said. Apple's market cap went from about $350 billion to $4 trillion in his 15-year tenure.

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