Jensen Huang decided to take a dramatic turn and stepped down from his role as CEO of Nvidia amid his multiple affair scandal. Huang reportedly had three extramarital affairs and acknowledged cheating on his wife through an internal memo. His name adds to Silicon Valley’s list of high-profile executives whose careers went off-track by personal controversies and corporate investigations.
Here are five tech CEOs who exited amid controversy:
Travis Kalanick, Uber
Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick had resigned from the ride-hailing platform in 2017 after being pressured by investors. According to Reuters, his exit came after he faced allegations of sexual harassment and workplace discrimination at Uber. Notably, five major investors had reportedly asked for his immediate resignation.
Brian Krzanich, Intel
Brian Krzanich, the former CEO of Intel, had resigned in 2018 after an internal investigation concluded that he had a past consensual relationship with an employee at Intel. The tech firm said the relationship violated its non-fraternisation policy and it applied to all the managers.
Mark Hurd, Hewlett-Packard
According to the official statement by HP, Mark Hurd had stepped down from the company’s CEO position in 2010 after an investigation into a sexual harassment complaint filed by a former contractor. While HP’s investigation found no violation of its sexual harassment policy, it found violations of the company’s business conduct standards, leading to his resignation.
Parker Conrad, Zenefits
According to Reuters, Zenefits founder Parker Conrad had resigned as the company CEO in 2016 after the startup faced scrutiny over alleged violations of insurance licensing requirements. The controversy dealt with employees selling insurance without appropriate licenses and using software to bypass mandatory training requirements. The US Securities and Exchange Commission documented the company’s compliance failures.
Scott Thompson, Yahoo
One of the most popular incidents remains Yahoo’s former CEO Scott Thompson leaving the company in 2012. His departure follows a controversy over his academic qualifications after Yahoo accepted that its regulatory filing incorrectly listed a computer science degree he had not earned, according to Associated Press.
