Arm's Haas edges ahead in open race to be Nvidia's next CEO

Arm chief executive Rene Haas has moved narrowly ahead of the field in the race to succeed Jensen Huang as Nvidia's chief executive, though traders still see the job as wide open and consider any single candidate unlikely to get it.

Bets on Haas rose sharply on Friday afternoon, after sitting flat through the morning. The jump lifted him from a distant contender to roughly level with Ian Buck, the Nvidia executive who had been the front-runner when the day began. Haas now holds the thinnest of leads over Buck. The reason is unclear: no announcement from Nvidia or new reporting has been tied to the shift, and the betting on Haas has been thin compared with the wagering on other names.

Behind the two leaders, traders give smaller chances to Colette Kress, Nvidia's chief financial officer, and treat Apple's Johny Srouji and Tim Cook as long shots. The odds for those candidates barely changed on Friday. Traders also see only a slim chance that Nvidia goes through 2028 without naming a permanent successor at all.

Nvidia announced on Nov. 12 that Huang had resigned as chief executive and director, and that Kress would serve as interim chief executive while the board searches for a permanent replacement. The company said it would consider both internal and external candidates. Kress's interim role does not make her Huang's successor; only a permanent appointment would.

Haas has been mentioned as a possible outside candidate, and he knows the company well, having previously spent seven years at Nvidia before leading Arm. Reuters reported speculation about him on Nov. 11, and later coverage listed him among potential successors. Nvidia has not named him as its choice, and none of that reporting accounts for Friday's rise.

The board's search is underway with no announced shortlist and no timetable for an appointment. The next scheduled moment to watch is Nov. 17, when Nvidia is due to report quarterly results and management could face questions about succession. An official announcement naming a permanent successor would decide the question, even before that person takes the job.