Two major Nvidia investors have urged the company’s board to take a careful approach to choosing its next leader, leaving open the possibility that Jensen Huang could return as chief executive. Their letter, reported by CNBC on November 14, did not call for his immediate reinstatement.

A call for time, not an immediate return

The letter was signed by Brad Gerstner, chief executive of investment firm Altimeter Capital, and Gavin Baker, chief investment officer of Atreides Management. They asked the board to proceed slowly and carefully while deciding Nvidia’s leadership future, saying Huang deserved a considered process before the company moved to replace him.

The signatories also said Nvidia would be well managed under interim chief executive Colette Kress. Kress, who had been the company’s chief financial officer, took over on November 12 as Nvidia began looking for a permanent successor.

The firms have significant investments in Nvidia. An SEC filing showed Altimeter held 9.4 million shares, worth nearly $1.9 billion, as of June 30, 2026. Atreides held 1.2 million shares, worth nearly $250 million, at the end of June.

The board will decide

Huang resigned as CEO on November 12, ending a tenure of more than three decades. A report by Vietnamese outlet Soha.vn, citing Yahoo Finance and Nvidia’s 2026 proxy statement, said six of the 10 remaining board members would need to agree to bring him back. Shareholders do not vote directly to appoint the CEO, the report said.

Soha.vn also reported that Huang held about 3.58% of Nvidia’s voting rights, while BlackRock and Vanguard each held more than 7%. Elon Musk, who has publicly supported Huang’s return, is not on Nvidia’s board. Musk said on X on November 13 that he had signed an online petition calling for Huang to be reinstated; the next day, he wrote that some important deals would be lost without Huang.

The “Stand with Jensen” campaign website listed more than 108,000 petition signatures, including more than 58,000 people identified as shareholders, over 5,600 current Nvidia employees and more than 1,000 former employees.

Investigations are still unresolved

Huang’s resignation came amid reports of extramarital relationships, including an alleged relationship with Chinese businesswoman Alice Huang, whom Tuoi Tre reported had been accused of being a spy and had worked at Megaspeed. The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the Singapore-based technology company over suspicions that it diverted some Nvidia AI chips restricted from export to China. The report does not say that Huang has been charged with wrongdoing.

Nvidia’s board has also announced an independent investigation after reports that Huang might have been a target of a foreign intelligence operation. Nvidia said there was no current basis to believe its technology secrets or U.S. national security had been compromised. The available reports do not give the outcome of either investigation, say how the board will respond to the investors’ letter or indicate whether Huang wants to return.