Could Jensen Huang return as Nvidia's CEO? Musk and other tech leaders believe so and are pushing for his return

Several tech leaders are calling for Jensen Huang's return to the helm of Nvidia (REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein) "Bring Jensen back" or "Stand with Jensen" is the petition circulating on social media, pressuring Nvidia's board to bring back one of the world's most influential tech figures to his post. The great precedent, though the circumstances were different, is Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI. Elon Musk and other tech leaders back Huang's return. The mobilization recalls other corporate crises in which a leader's departure ultimately proved reversible, from OpenAI to Apple. Can Jensen Huang return to Nvidia just days after his departure? The campaign to reinstate the company's co-founder is gaining visibility and raises a question Silicon Valley has faced before: how much can a board resist when employees, investors, and partners demand the return of someone they consider essential to the business. According to the South China Morning Post, the "Stand with Jensen" initiative on the web and social media had surpassed 136,000 signatures by Sunday, November 15, with supporters including names of tech figures and people identifying themselves as Nvidia employees and shareholders. Several prominent industry figures, including YouTube co-founder Steve Chen and Atreides Management managing partner Gavin Baker, have publicly endorsed the campaign on X. The organizers of the "Stand with Jensen" campaign, who describe themselves as Nvidia employees, partners, and shareholders, urged the board to "bring Jensen back while an independent investigation establishes the facts," according to an open letter on the initiative's website. The outlet highlights as the central concern of its supporters that the company could lose business relationships in the future that were built around Jensen Huang's leadership. They also demand transparency about his departure and an opportunity for him to respond to the questions raised. The campaign clarifies that it acts independently, without authorization or official backing from Nvidia or the businessman himself. Elon Musk amplified that demand by announcing on X that he would sign a petition to reinstate him. Within Nvidia, expressions of support were also recorded: according to Reuters, an internal post calling for employee input to be considered received more than 1,600 comments, many favoring finding a path for his return. Reuters noted it could not independently verify those internal reports. The official position, for now, remains different. Nvidia announced on November 12 Huang's immediate resignation as president, CEO, and board member. Colette Kress assumed the role of interim chief executive and the company opened a search for a successor. But in this world where changes happen at high speed, everything can be reversed under different pressures. There are already other cases in history. The closest precedent is Sam Altman at OpenAI. On November 17, 2023, its board removed him as CEO. Days later, the decision was reversed: Altman returned and the leadership of the body that had removed him was reorganized. His departure was a dismissal, not a voluntary resignation, an important difference when comparing the two episodes. In the statement formalizing his return, published on November 29, Altman highlighted the support of employees and Microsoft, which had offered to take in the team if no solution was reached. The return was accompanied by a new initial board headed by Bret Taylor and a commitment to review what had happened. The subsequent review, conducted by WilmerHale and released by OpenAI in March 2024, attributed the crisis to a breakdown of trust between Altman and the previous board. According to that report, the decision had been carried out without a full investigation or an opportunity to respond to the concerns raised. Although the board had the authority to remove him, the review concluded that his conduct did not warrant his removal. Although those conclusions apply exclusively to the OpenAI case, they could foreshadow a change in the situation of Nvidia's current former CEO. Corporate history offers other comebacks, though under very different circumstances and timelines. Steve Jobs left Apple in 1985 after a power dispute and returned to the company after the acquisition of NeXT, becoming interim CEO in 1997 and official CEO in 2000. His return, more than a decade later, became one of the emblematic episodes of a founder's recovery after being pushed out of his own company. There is no need to recount, from Jobs's return until his death, the upward trajectory of the stock and value of this iconic American company that revolutionized the world in 2007 with its first iPhone. Howard Schultz is another emblematic case who returned to lead Starbucks. After stepping down from the executive role in 2000, he returned in 2008 to lead a business transformation. In 2022 he took over again, this time as interim CEO. Unlike Altman, his returns responded to business transitions and needs, not to the immediate reversal of a dismissal. These precedents show that a leader's departure can be reversible. But the Nvidia case is still open: while his supporters seek to keep the possibility of his return alive, the board continues working on the situation and succession. On November 17, Nvidia will release its earnings report. Since this scandal began, Nvidia's stock has collapsed by more than 30% in just a few days. This will be a key day regarding future earnings projections, and not just the earnings obtained. The Altman precedent demonstrates that an apparently definitive decision can change within days when support for an executive turns into pressure on the continuity of the business. Jobs and Schultz show that such a return can also happen years later. For Huang, the question is whether the support he gathers today will be enough to open a real negotiation. The campaign has already put his return into the debate; it remains to be seen whether it will manage to put him back at the helm of Nvidia.