TLDR
- Persis Drell resigned from Nvidia’s board on Wednesday after serving more than a decade
- She holds approximately 143,000 shares valued at roughly $26 million
- Drell was paid $344,000 last year and served on the compensation committee
- Her departure was for a new professional opportunity, not due to company disputes
- Nvidia’s board now has 10 directors following her exit
Nvidia disclosed Friday that board member Persis Drell resigned from her position effective January 22. The move reduces the chipmaker’s board to 10 directors.
Drell, a 70-year-old Stanford engineering professor, left to pursue a new professional opportunity. The company confirmed her departure was unrelated to any disagreements about operations or policies.
She served on the board for over 10 years. During this time, Nvidia’s stock soared more than 22,000% since late 2015.
Board Composition Changes
The resignation marks the second board departure in recent months. Former astronaut Ellen Ochoa left the board in June.
CEO Jensen Huang remains on the 10-member board. Drell also stepped down from her role on the compensation committee, which handles executive pay matters.
Nvidia has not announced plans to replace her seat. The SEC filing provided no timeline for filling the vacancy.
Share Holdings and Compensation
Drell owns nearly 143,000 Nvidia shares according to recent holdings reports. Her stake is currently worth about $26 million at today’s prices.
She sold approximately 40,000 shares over the past year. These sales occurred as Nvidia’s valuation climbed due to surging AI chip demand.
For her board service last year, Drell received total compensation of $344,000. This included close to $259,000 in stock awards per the company’s annual report.
Academic Career Background
Drell joined Stanford’s faculty in 2002. She led the engineering school as dean from 2014 through 2017.
She then served as Stanford’s provost from 2017 to 2023. Before her dean appointment, she directed SLAC, Stanford’s particle accelerator facility, from 2007 to 2012.
Her engineering and physics expertise complemented Nvidia’s semiconductor technology focus. The company became the world’s most valuable during her board tenure.
The AI revolution drove massive demand for Nvidia’s chips. Tech companies and data centers rushed to secure GPUs for training language models and AI systems.
Drell’s effective resignation date was Wednesday, January 22, 2026. She simultaneously exited the compensation committee on the same day.
The filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission detailed the resignation terms. It emphasized the departure was voluntary and not related to company performance or disagreements.
