Colette Kress

Colette Kress (born 1967) is an American financial analyst and business executive who has served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Nvidia since 2013. She previously served as the Chief Financial Officer of Cisco's Business Technology and Operations Finance Section and of Microsoft's Server and Tools Division. She has been a billionaire since July 2025.

Early years and education Kress earned a Bachelors of Science in Finance from the University of Arizona and an MBA from the Southern Methodist University Cox School of Business.

Career She started her career by rising to the rank of Chief Financial Officer of Microsoft's Server and Tools Division and then of Cisco's Business Technology and Operations Finance Section.

Kress joined Nvidia as CFO after a two-year search in September 2013, where she was seen as unlikely to cause a significant change in the company's core business of selling graphics chips but was seen as a potential support for the expansion to tablets and computers. At this point, Nvidia was the smallest company she had worked for.

In 2018, during the Bank of America Global Tech Conference, Kress stated that despite the reduction in crypto, autonomous vehicles and gaming would drive the remaining demand.

She has been seen as instrumental in Nvidia's rapid rise to prominence during the rise of Artificial Intelligence. As the company has rapidly grown, she has led the digitization effort of manual processes. She has continually discussed the importance of AI and its growth. and spoke publicly about the discussions between OpenAI and Nvidia for investments. She has also worked on Nvidia's "matchmaking" efforts to support customers for other needs such as data center space.

Wealth and recognition She was first ranked as a billionaire on July 29, 2025, making her one of the few CFOs to become billionaires.

She was included as a 2024 winner of The New Era in Business in Chief. She was ranked as #49 on Fortune's Most Powerful Women list in 2026. She was included in the MarketWatch 50 in 2023 as an AI Player.