Nvidia names 30-year director Harvey Jones as its first chair

Jones’s ties to Nvidia began through his work at Synopsys, the chip-design software company he led as CEO. In a 2009 interview with the Computer History Museum, he said Nvidia’s founders had been core engineers at Synopsys and approached him about joining their board. “At first it was a hobby,” he said of Nvidia.

His career also includes co-founding computer-aided engineering company Daisy Systems in 1981, serving as Synopsys executive chairman after his CEO tenure, and co-founding Tensilica, which Cadence Design Systems acquired in 2013, according to Nvidia’s board biography. Jones has managed investment firm Square Wave Ventures since 2004. He attended Georgetown University, where he studied mathematics and computer science.

Nvidia’s 2026 proxy statement describes Jones as an independent director and financial expert who serves on the audit, nominating, and corporate governance committees. It cites his executive experience, knowledge of semiconductor technologies and complex system design, and insight into innovation, research and development, and technical employees.

The proxy statement said Jones beneficially owned about 7 million Nvidia shares as of March 23, including shares held in a trust. Those holdings were worth more than $1.1 billion as of Thursday. In the announcement of the leadership transition, Jones said the board had confidence in interim CEO and CFO Colette Kress and the leadership team, and expected operations and the product road map to continue without interruption. The board is searching for a successor to Huang.