Celebrity CEOs Like Jensen "Romeo" Huang: Any Governance Lessons Learned?

 No succession plan. Warnings of a romantic relationship with a suspected spy for China were not acted on. Internal whispers of romance with a subordinate. Yet tech rock star Jensen Huang got away with it. Until he didn't.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the board is meeting to oust him. But not before some investors are in deep angst, wondering if the stock will come back. That is, can the business return to normal? In after-hours trading, the stock is down almost 9 points, hovering around 158.

Of course, there are plenty of governance lessons to be learned. Lots of experts will be publishing articles on this. But they usually aren't embedded in the collective memory bank. 

We should have learned from Enron and from the mess Jack Welch wound up making at GE. We didn't. At law firm Paul, Weiss Brad Karp had established the first practice in the US to help business leaders with governance and related issues. Obviously, they weren't quick studies.

The gallows humor is that divorce lawyers in California, which is Huang's legal residence, are going to make a fortune. Since the state is a community property one, no need to cry for Mrs. Huang if she decides to exit. But what will happen to the internal one-time romantic partner Kimberly Powell? According to her LinkedIn profile, she's still employed there. And what will be the fate of the Nepo babies Spencer and Madison? 

UPDATE: 

CEO Jensen Huang resigns. Here are details from The New York Times.

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