Nvidia CEO Race: Following the sudden resignation of its long-time chief Jensen Huang, Nvidia has begun the search for a permanent chief executive officer. While the company has appointed Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress as interim CEO, its board is looking for candidates from within and outside the organisation. Among the names being discussed are three Indian-origin technology leaders, including Sanjay Mehrotra, Nikesh Arora and Thomas Kurian.

Huang's departure amid growing controversy marks a major turning point for the American chipmaker, which he co-founded and led for more than three decades. Today, Nvidia is one of the world's most valuable companies. In such a scenario, his exit has raised questions about the company's future leadership and its ability to maintain its position in the rapidly growing AI industry.

Indian-Origin Tech Leaders Among Possible Contenders

1. Sanjay Mehrotra
Sanjay Mehrotra, the chief executive of US-based memory chipmaker Micron Technology, is among the names being discussed as a possible successor. Born in Kanpur, on June 27, 1958, Mehrotra is an Indian-American business executive. He has more than four decades of experience in the semiconductor industry. Mehrotra has also worked closely with Nvidia through Micron's supply of memory products. He has been leading Micron since 2017. Before joining Micron, he co-founded SanDisk in 1988 and served as its CEO from 2011 until its sale in 2016.

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2. Nikesh Arora
Born in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, on February 9, 1968, Nikesh Arora, chairman and CEO of cybersecurity company Palo Alto Networks is another potential name that has emerged for Nvidia's leadership. According to the Financial Times report, investors have suggested Arora as a potential external candidate. He has been leading Palo Alto Networks since 2018 and has overseen its expansion in cybersecurity and AI-powered security solutions.

Earlier, he served as president and chief operating officer of Japan's SoftBank Group. He also spent around a decade at Google, where he held senior leadership positions. Arora has vast experience in managing large technology businesses and understanding global technology. However, his background is more linked to cybersecurity and business management than semiconductor manufacturing.

3. Thomas Kurian

Thomas Kurian, the chief executive of Google Cloud, is also among the names mentioned in reports about possible candidates. Born in 1966 in Kerala, he is the identical twin brother of George Kurian, CEO of NetApp. According to Axios, Kurian could be considered because of his experience in cloud computing, enterprise technology and artificial intelligence.

After spending more than two decades at Oracle, where he held several senior leadership positions, Kurian joined Google in 2018. At Google, his role includes overseeing cloud business that provides infrastructure, software and AI services to companies worldwide. He has a good understanding of large-scale computing systems and enterprise customers. However, like Arora, he also does not have a background in semiconductor chip development.

Other Names Being Discussed For CEO Role

Apart from the three Indian-origin executives, several other prominent technology leaders have emerged in media reports. These include:

Colette Kress: Nvidia's current interim CEO and CFO. She has been with the company since 2013 and has extensive experience in financial management.
Ian Buck: A senior Nvidia technology executive who has played an important role in the development of CUDA and the company's AI computing business.
Lisa Su: AMD's CEO, known for transforming the company into a major competitor in the semiconductor industry.
Rene Haas: The CEO of Arm and a former Nvidia executive with experience in chip technology.
Tim Cook: The former Apple chief executive has also been suggested as a possible choice by US President Donald Trump.
Johny Srouji: Apple's senior hardware executive, known for leading the development of its custom chips.
Matt Garman: The head of Amazon Web Services, with experience in cloud computing and AI infrastructure.
Amin Vahdat: A Google executive associated with the company's AI chips and data centre technology.
Jay Puri: A former Nvidia executive, who now serves as a senior adviser.

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