Nvidia's Board of Directors made a stunning announcement Thursday morning: co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang, who led the company for 33 years, has stepped down from his roles as President, CEO, and Board member, effective immediately. The news comes as a major shock for one of the world's most valuable companies—the designer of the chips powering the AI revolution. Even a week ago, few would have anticipated such a development, given Huang's deep entanglement with Nvidia throughout its entire history; he had never even put a succession plan in place. Huang's departure follows reports of affairs with both an alleged Chinese spy and one of his direct reports at the company.

While Nvidia searches for a permanent successor, CFO and Executive Vice President Colette Kress has stepped in as interim CEO. But who is the person now leading a company valued at roughly $3.8 trillion? According to Nvidia's website, Kress joined the company in September 2013. Prior to that, she spent three years as an SVP and CFO of Cisco's Business Technology Operations Finance organization. She also had a 13-year tenure at Microsoft, including four years as CFO of the Server and Tools division. Kress holds a finance degree from the University of Arizona and an MBA from Southern Methodist University.

The 59-year-old California native maintains a very limited social media presence—on LinkedIn, she has occasionally commented well wishes on former colleagues' retirement posts. However, as CFO, she has been a regular fixture on Nvidia's earnings calls, making her a familiar face to analysts covering the company. Forbes' list of America's Richest Self-Made Women estimates Kress' net worth at approximately $1.2 billion. Her Forbes profile notes that she initially joined Nvidia partly because her two sons endorsed the company for its role in the video game industry, which was its primary claim to fame at the time.

"NVIDIA's strength has always come from its people, and together with our leadership team, I am committed to building on the extraordinary foundation Jensen created over the last 33 years," Kress said in a statement. "We will continue advancing the work that has made NVIDIA a leader in accelerated computing and AI, and execute on the opportunities ahead. Our focus remains on serving our customers, partners, developers and shareholders."

Nvidia is scheduled to report its quarterly earnings on Tuesday, when Kress will likely share more details about her plans for the company's immediate future.