As I write this, the resignation of Jensen Huang from Nvidia in the wake of revelations that he had a romantic relationship with a direct report and a client (who was probably / definitely a spy for a rival government) has led to the market capitalization erosion of about 2 trillion dollars.
Not since Steve Jobs has a single Founder been so publicly viewed as the face of a company. Yet, even Jobs, a shoo-in for any business junkie’s “Mt. Rushmore of Business Titans,” wasn’t as singularly as important to his company as Huang is. Huang is not just the face of Nvidia.
He is the face of AI.
And that face just resigned from the company he started in the early 90s at a Denny’s restaurant.
While the global economy is quaking and processing this news, I want to turn my attention to the business owners on this platform.
How much of your business value is tied to your ability to show up to work today and manage?
Furthermore, how much of your personal wealth is tied to this idiosyncratic asset that you own and uniquely manage?
If the arrow has hit, we should speak.
And we should speak quickly, because this stuff can’t be solved overnight.
Nvidia is a cautionary tale to all business leaders that succession planning matters.
I am currently working with a client to diversify his lieutenants such that there is redundancy built into his company.
My client is seeking an exit in the next 5 years. For this to work, he has to build in redundancy and make sure that others can call the plays if he gets sidelined.
Did Apple’s stock tank when Steve Jobs announced his terminal illness?
Briefly, yes. But at a much lighter discount than what we are seeing today.
And Apple’s stock quickly stabilized.
This is in part because Jobs had Steve Cook and a handful of other replacement candidates waiting in the wings.
If you were to step down today (hopefully not for reasons as sordid as our present saga), would your company value last?
Let’s make a plan now to ensure that it can.