Jensen Huang RESIGNS - Carlos Ghosn Reacts to NVIDIA Stock Plunge

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

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SPEAKER_2 (0:30)

Are you following the Jensen Huang and Nvidia story of what's going on?

Carlos Ghosn (0:34)

Oh yeah, I am following it.

SPEAKER_2 (0:35)

Okay, just right now this second, Jensen Huang officially resigned.

Pre-market the stock is down 12%. You think that's the right move?

Carlos Ghosn (0:47)

Look, I have known Jensen at the beginning of his career. You know, when I was CEO of Nissan by the year 2002-2003, Nvidia was a startup and he came to Japan. I met him many times in Japan because he was trying to sell his own product, and he wanted us to try his ships. So he's a very personable man. I like him very much. We maintain a very strong relationship for many years, and I've seen with fascination the rise of Nvidia, and probably his numerous qualities are at the base of his rise. Obviously, there is a team behind working.

When you have somebody as strong as Jensen, as the CEO of a company, obviously, anything can represent a risk. So I understand that the market is reacting like this because it's so crucial, and he's probably the most visible face of Nvidia, which is the most valorized company in the world.

But I think he has created something which will go beyond him. So yes, that will be a short-term reaction. Kudos for whatever he's done, no matter what other criticism that are behind him. I think he's a great man and he's a great person.

SPEAKER_2 (2:07)

Yeah, it's interesting because they're saying, just wipe that $600 billion of valuation the CFO is taking over in a room. Did you see Elon Musk saying, if this guy resigns, I would hire him in a heartbeat? I mean, you know, he said something of that nature.

Do you think it's the right move? You think it's a right move for him to step down and walk away?

Carlos Ghosn (2:31)

You know, CEOs at this level are, I've been there, certainly not at the level he has reached.

You are under a lot of pressure. You are under a lot of pressure. The pressure of your shareholder, the pressure of your different stakeholders, pressures of your employees, pressure of your family, in this case. So it's unbearable. It's very, very, very, very hard. So at a certain point in time, enough is enough. So I can understand. He said, look, I don't want to, you know, continue on this road. I understand him, frankly, and I feel for him.

SPEAKER_2 (3:04)

Do you think guys like him are very hard to replace, just like guys like you? The reason why I'm asking this and how it correlates with you is, it's easy to demonize guys like you. Now, don't get me wrong, the Chinese spy thing is a little bit too much, where you can't go and do that, because that's where it's controversial to get that.

But do you think it's hard to replace guys like you or Jensen, these types of CEOs' mentality that the average person just doesn't maybe understand how they drive, collaborate behind closed doors, develop coalitions behind closed doors? How hard is it to replace Jensen Huang?

Carlos Ghosn (3:38)

Look, I think it's going to be very hard for a very simple reason. Because on top of his own personality, there is everything he has built for so many years. That means he has been in a certain way made by what he has done. It shaped him.

And he became somebody unique in his own company. It's going to be very difficult to find somebody who could emulate him.

Because you can find somebody as smart as him, you can find somebody as good as a person as him. But never you will find somebody who has his history and what he has made. That's what makes people unique. I don't think they are born like that. I think they are made like that, their own history, the challenges they faced, the failures that they had, the successes they enjoyed. All of this makes them unique person, frankly, very valuable for the company for what they've done. In my case, obviously, I became unique because of my history, going through Michelin and then going through Renault and going to Brazil, then the United States, then France, then Japan. Then all the challenges I faced in my life made me unique for the job, accepted by the Japanese and accepted by the French. So I was difficult to replace because I have a history that was unique, that you can probably find somebody smarter than me or had a maybe better personality than me, but you will never find somebody who has the same history and the same background. I think that's what would make Jensen very, very difficult to replace. Now, will he be really well replaced?