Experts weigh in on Huang’s resignation: “Entitled” tech CEOs have too much power
The cult of personality in the tech industry may come to an end
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Bloomberg via Getty Images.
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- Jensen Huang resigned as Nvidia CEO after reports of affairs with a suspected Chinese spy and a company executive.
- Experts say Nvidia’s dependence on Huang shows how founder-led tech firms can concentrate too much power.
- Carissa Véliz warned that one executive’s decisions can affect the economy and national security.
- Gil Durán argued markets remain attached to the genius founder myth despite recent scandals.
Key Takeaways by nexos.ai, reviewed by Cybernews staff.
Experts say the personality cult in the tech industry, which gives major power to its executives, is a sign that democracy is going in the wrong direction.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang announced his resignation on November 11, 2026, following reports that he had an extramarital affair with a suspected Chinese spy, Alice Huang, a former executive of Singapore-based company Megaspeed.
The pressure reached its peak on Wednesday, after The New York Times reported that Huang had also had an affair with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia’s vice president of healthcare.
Carissa Véliz, an associate professor of philosophy at the Oxford Institute for Ethics in AI, said during the Web Summit in Lisbon that Huang’s way of leading Nvidia, making the company so dependent on him, reflects the broader trend of the personality cult in the tech industry.
There is so much irony, because we’re giving tech executives too much authority, and we’re using them as oracles all the time, asking them what the future holds. Did Jensen predict this event? I don’t think so,Carissa Véliz, an associate professor of philosophy at the Oxford Institute for Ethics in A
Huang founded NVIDIA in 1993 and has served since its inception as president, chief executive officer, and a member of the board of directors, leading the firm to become the world’s most valuable company.
Véliz said fact that one person has so much power to make decisions that are important not only for the economy but also for national security, given the widespread use of Nvidia products, shows that “something is going wrong in democracy.”
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“Putting an incredible amount of power in the hands of one person is already a vulnerability, but not just any person – someone who is incredibly entitled and isn’t very savvy when it comes to politics,” she said.
She pointed out that other executives defended Huang because, according to Véliz, they can see themselves in his place.
“Monsters are out of control”
Gil Durán, a journalist and the author of the book The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy, said the idea of a mythical, genius founder who has all the skills and talent has been shattered in recent years.
“But I question whether anything is gonna change about that, because the market seems addicted to the myth of a great founder who has all the power,” he said.
Durán also warned against outsourcing so much economic power to tech companies that they “can just tumble markets with their personal lives that become geopolitical crises.”
He criticized SpaceXSI founder Elon Musk for taking a governmental role in the Trump administration and for his decision to cut off military-grade Starlink service to Ukraine, harming the country’s defenses against Russia.
We’ve let these monsters get out of control, and it's time to put the billionaires on a leash before they do even more damage. We're seeing lots of warning signs right now,Gil Durán, journalist
