Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is facing a second allegation of an extramarital relationship, this time with a company executive who reported directly to him, according to five people who worked at Nvidia and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The relationship was with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia’s vice president of health care, the sources said. Mr. Huang, 63, and Ms. Powell, 48, were reportedly captured on video showing affection at a San Jose hotel during an Nvidia conference in March, according to two of the people who worked at the company. The video has not been independently reviewed by The New York Times, which first reported the allegation.
Both Mr. Huang and Ms. Powell are married to other people.
Nvidia’s code of conduct instructs employees to “avoid situations where our actions create conflict,” including “personal relationships,” and states the company “promptly investigates reports of misconduct.” Many corporations maintain policies barring managers from relationships with subordinates.
The report follows an earlier disclosure that Mr. Huang had an affair with a woman identified as Alice Huang, no relation, whom U.S. intelligence officials determined had ties to the Chinese Communist Party. Nvidia’s board of directors has already opened an investigation into that relationship. It is not clear whether the board’s inquiry extends to the reported relationship with Ms. Powell.
When reached by phone Wednesday and asked about his relationship with Ms. Powell, Mr. Huang said, “I don’t think you should be talking to me directly,” and ended the call. Nvidia declined to provide a statement, and Ms. Powell did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The allegations raise questions about corporate governance at one of the world’s most valuable technology companies, particularly given the overlapping concerns about national security tied to the earlier reported relationship and the workplace conflict-of-interest issues raised by a reported relationship with a direct report.
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