Who is Kimberly Powell? Nvidia healthcare VP linked to Jensen Huang’s alleged second affair

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is facing fresh scrutiny over his personal life after The New York Times reported an alleged extramarital relationship with Kimberly Powell, a senior executive at the chipmaker who reportedly reports directly to him. The latest report, citing five people who had worked at Nvidia, described an alleged hotel encounter between the two during the company's annual developer conference in San Jose in March 2026. The newspaper said two sources claimed the interaction was captured on video, although it did not obtain the footage.

The latest revelation comes days after Huang acknowledged being unfaithful to his wife in an email to Nvidia employees. His admission followed an earlier controversy involving Alice Huang, a Chinese businesswoman associated with Singapore-based Megaspeed. US intelligence officials reportedly suspected her of having links to Beijing and facilitating information gathering connected to Nvidia. These allegations have not been independently established. Nvidia's board subsequently initiated an independent investigation into the separate foreign intelligence concerns. Against this backdrop, Powell's name has emerged in another report, raising questions about her professional position and personal life.

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Who is Kimberly Powell and what does she do at Nvidia?

Powell is Nvidia's vice president and general manager of healthcare, a position she has held since October 2017. She joined the company in May 2008 and has spent more than 18 years working across its healthcare, higher education and artificial intelligence businesses.

In her current role, Powell oversees Nvidia's worldwide healthcare business, covering both hardware and software platforms. Her work spans artificial intelligence, accelerated computing, medical imaging, life sciences and drug discovery.

Before taking charge of the healthcare division, she served as director of worldwide business development for higher education and healthcare from May 2008 to March 2016. She subsequently became senior director of artificial intelligence business development.

Her work has been associated with Nvidia's healthcare technology ecosystem, including MONAI for medical imaging, BioNeMo for biological research and drug discovery, and Parabricks for genomics.

Powell has also spoken about Huang's interest in healthcare. During her August 2026 appearance on the Lifers with Christina Farr podcast, she said his interest in the sector went back more than 20 years and was driven by the potential of technology to help researchers achieve meaningful advances in healthcare.

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On her personal life, a New York Post report, said Powell's online activity indicated that she is married and has two children. Her husband's identity has not been publicly established. Neither Powell nor Huang has publicly confirmed the relationship alleged in the NYT report.

The newspaper also reported that three people briefed on the March incident said Huang's security personnel approached the person who recorded the interaction and attempted to obtain a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). 

From hardware engineer to Nvidia's healthcare chief - Powell's career before Nvidia

Powell's career in technology began with an engineering background. She studied electrical engineering, with a concentration in computer engineering, at Northeastern University between 1996 and 2001. She later completed a graduate certificate in project management at Boston University and executive education in product design, development and management at MIT Sloan School of Management.

Before joining Nvidia, Powell worked as a hardware engineer at DOME Imaging Systems from January 1999 to April 2003. She then moved to Planar Systems, where she worked as a hardware engineer before becoming product marketing manager for its medical business unit in 2006.

In her August 2026 podcast interview, Powell recalled how her experience with digital medical imaging led her to approach Nvidia about using its graphics processing technology in healthcare. The company eventually offered her an opportunity to explore those applications, which she described as a "dream come true".

Nearly two decades later, Powell has moved from engineering and medical imaging to leading Nvidia's global healthcare business. Her professional journey is now receiving renewed attention amid the allegations involving the company's longtime CEO.