Jensen Huang at Computex Taipei, May 31, 2016. NVIDIA Taiwan, CC BY 2.0; cropped. Archive file photo, not the investigation.
Nvidia’s independent directors have hired former federal prosecutor Joon H. Kim and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to conduct the investigation into reports that Chief Executive Jensen Huang was targeted by a foreign intelligence effort.
The November 10 announcement identifies the lawyer and law firm handling the inquiry. The investigation itself was announced Sunday, November 8.
Kim is a former acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, not the office’s current prosecutor. He served in that role from 2017 to 2018 and is now a partner in Wachtell Lipton’s litigation department.
The independent board members said they had retained Kim and his firm “to conduct a thorough and independent investigation as was announced on Sunday.” They did not announce findings, a timetable for completing the review or a change in Huang’s position.
Independent directors oversee the review
In its Sunday statement, Nvidia’s board said a committee of independent directors, assisted by outside independent counsel, would oversee the inquiry and examine all available information.
The board said it had “no reason to believe” that national security or Nvidia secrets had been compromised. That was the board’s preliminary position, not a finding from a completed investigation.
The directors said Huang fully supports the review and has committed to cooperating. They also expressed confidence in him and his leadership team, while placing U.S. national and economic security among the interests the inquiry must protect.
As JBizNews reported Sunday, Huang admitted infidelity in a reported email to employees as the board opened its review. His admission and the separate questions about potential security risks are not the same issue.
Kim’s Wachtell biography lists internal investigations, white-collar criminal and regulatory defense, and commercial litigation among his practice areas. During his time leading the Manhattan federal prosecutor’s office, he oversaw criminal and civil cases, including matters involving theft of trade secrets and economic espionage.
The appointment names the outside investigators. It does not establish that espionage occurred or that confidential information was compromised.
JBizNews Desk | New York
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