NVIDIA quietly reshaped its leadership ranks over the past year as it scaled alongside the global AI boom.
The chipmaker added senior executives across marketing, human resources, research, cybersecurity, and software. At the same time, leadership exits slowed compared with the previous year.
Together, these moves show Nvidia expanding beyond chips. The company is strengthening its software, enterprise, and research capabilities as demand accelerates.
Key leaders Nvidia hired since early 2025
Alison Wagonfeld, Chief Marketing Officer
In January, Nvidia appointed its first chief marketing officer. Wagonfeld previously spent nearly a decade at Google Cloud. She now leads Nvidia’s global marketing and communications as the company’s profile grows worldwide.
Kristin Major, Senior Vice President of Human Resources
Major joined in February after more than 13 years at Hewlett-Packard Enterprise. She oversees talent strategy and sits on CEO Jensen Huang’s executive leadership team.
Jiantao Jiao, Director of Research
NVIDIA hired Jiao in June to focus on AI post-training, evaluation, agents, and infrastructure. He previously co-founded Nexusflow AI and also teaches at UC Berkeley, strengthening Nvidia’s academic ties.
Mark Weatherford, Head of Cybersecurity Policy and Strategic Engagement
Weatherford brings government experience to Nvidia. He previously served as deputy undersecretary for cybersecurity at the US Department of Homeland Security, adding policy depth as Nvidia works more closely with enterprises and governments.
Rochan Sankar, Founder and CEO of Enfabrica
Sankar joined Nvidia following the company’s roughly $900 million acqui-hire of Enfabrica. His team builds systems that connect large GPU clusters, a growing priority for large-scale AI workloads.
Krysta Svore, Vice President of Applied Research, Quantum Computing
Svore joined Microsoft after nearly 20 years leading advanced quantum work. At Nvidia, she now oversees applied research across the quantum computing stack.
Danny Auble, Senior Director of System Software
Auble joined after Nvidia acquired SchedMD, the startup behind the open-source workload manager Slurm. NVIDIA has committed to keeping the software open-source while continuing development.
Jonathan Ross, Chief Software Architect, and Sunny Madra, Vice President of Hardware
Ross and Madra joined through a licensing deal with AI startup Groq. The agreement highlighted Nvidia’s growing focus on AI inference, not just model training.
Notable leadership departures in 2025
Leadership exits slowed this year, though a few senior figures did move on.
Dieter Fox, Senior Director of Robotics Research
Fox left in June after nearly eight years at Nvidia. He joined the Allen Institute for AI to work on robotics foundation models.
Minwoo Park, Vice President
Park departed to join Hyundai. He now leads advanced vehicle platforms and serves as CEO of its self-driving unit, 42dot.
Ellen Ochoa and Rob Burgess, Board Members
Ochoa stepped down for personal reasons. Burgess, a longtime technology executive, passed away in December.
Why this matters
NVIDIA’s leadership changes reflect a broader shift.
The company is adding depth in software, cybersecurity, enterprise engagement, and advanced research. At the same time, fewer executive exits suggest a more stable leadership structure.
As Nvidia moves into its next growth phase, these hires position the company to support AI demand across industries, governments, and global markets, not just chip design.
Follow us on Instagram and stay updated with our current news
NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang. Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images
