Nearly a decade after the #MeToo movement burst into public consciousness, the upheaval at Nvidia may be a lesson in how little CEOs seem to have learned. 

Nvidia’s embattled CEO Jensen Huang has resigned, following a New York Times report on Wednesday that revealed he had indulged in another extramarital relationship—this time involving a subordinate, the company’s vice president of health care and one of his 60 direct reports. The affair was a blatant violation of Nvidia’s code of conduct, which notes that employees should steer clear of situations that could create a conflict of interest, including “personal relationships.” The company also purports to “promptly investigate” reports of misconduct.

While this dalliance has fewer national security implications than his entanglement with an alleged Chinese spy, it does suggest that CEOs like Huang don’t expect to face consequences for getting involved with employees. 

Huang is in good company: Many employers have similar policies that forbid romantic relationships between managers and their direct reports, but that hasn’t stopped executives from crossing the line anyway. (Who could forget the viral video of the Astronomer CEO caught canoodling with his chief people officer at a Coldplay concert?)

In recent years, however, a number of executives have been forced to step down after pursuing inappropriate relationships, in addition to CEOs like Leslie Moonves being fired over sexual harassment. 

Back in 2019, former McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook was ousted over a relationship with a subordinate, then later sued by the company for concealing other relationships with employees and misleading investors.

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