By Elena Vasquez

Nvidia has placed 13-year company veteran Colette Kress in the interim CEO role after co-founder Jensen Huang’s highly publicized affair and resignation, putting its longtime finance chief at the center of a major scandal.

The immediate arrangement solves command, not succession. Nvidia says it is searching for a permanent CEO and will “consider internal and external candidates,” leaving Kress to manage the public-relations fallout during an open search.

What does Colette Kress inherit?

• Mandate: Kress takes command as Huang’s 33-year tenure ends, carrying responsibility for the scandal’s fallout and the search for his successor.
• Continuity: Huang personally recruited Kress 13 years ago, and she has worked closely with him since joining the company.
• Standing: As chief financial officer, Kress is one of the very small number of CFO billionaires, a familiar presence on Wall Street and an expert communicator of Nvidia’s plans.

Her experience reduces questions about readiness. It does not settle whether the interim mandate carries enough authority, because appointing a woman to a burdensome crisis role is a recurring corporate pattern that often narrows the path to success.

Is Kress standing on the glass cliff?

Researchers at the University of Exeter call the pattern the “glass cliff,” a counterpart to the glass ceiling. Their study of 100 companies found that women promoted during crises can face intense challenges and can serve as scapegoats when they fail to extinguish problems started by male predecessors.

The wider pattern is stark: women and minorities receive senior promotions less often than men, yet companies appoint them more often when major difficulties arise. The incoming leader may therefore appear to break through the ceiling while standing on a more precarious structure.

Martin Lanik, CEO of Pinsight, said: “In times of crisis, companies don’t want to risk the loss of who they believe to be their most valuable, high-potential talent—white men. In tough times, they are more likely to sacrifice employees who they perceive as less valued and more dispensable—women and racial minorities.”

Lanik’s warning captures the risk for Kress: however capable she proves, critics could treat her as disposable while allowing men to escape blame for the scandal.

What would make this a genuine promotion?

Kress’s case carries one favorable distinction: major technology companies remain almost exclusively led by men, among them Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Dario Amodei, Tim Cook and Sam Altman. Her appointment puts a woman at the top of Nvidia, although only temporarily.

Christina Lindley, founder and CEO of VPRG Consulting, said women should lead powerful companies, not merely alter the public narrative. “If you trust a woman to clean up a crisis, you can trust her to lead before there is one,” she said.

Lindley would not rush to conclude that Nvidia has set Kress up to fail, given how uniquely qualified she is. She said the decisive question is whether “she gets the accountability without the power.” If not, the role becomes “a clean up assignment,” not a true promotion.

That distinction will shape Kress’s prospects. A real leadership opportunity means “she gets to shape what comes next,” Lindley said, and the interim role should come with a shot at the permanent position.

Can more women in leadership prevent the next crisis?

Annie Scranton, founder and CEO of Pace PR, said: “If tech companies, and American businesses in general, want to avoid crises moving forward, they should put more women in leadership positions.”

Scranton added: “We don’t suffer from the same lapses in judgment as men.” Her broader argument is that more women should enter leadership before a crisis, rather than only during one.

Whether Kress becomes permanent CEO will likely turn on how she manages the PR storm. Her communications skills and existing credibility on Wall Street provide the foundation.

Her immediate test is clear: contain the PR storm, secure authority that matches her accountability, and remain credible for the permanent job.