NVIDIA, Pfizer and Binance: Top 5 Stories of the Week
NVIDIA CFO Colette Kress Steps in for Jensen Huang as CEO
NVIDIA's third-quarter results are expected to be released on 17 November; no doubt the finance department is in a hurry to make sure every t is crossed with adjusted predictions.
The news of Colette Kress’s appointment comes as Founder and ex-CEO Jensen Huang has stepped down with immediate effect, following headlines about extramarital affairs.
Jensen Huang was revealed to be having a “close” relationship with Alice Huang, of no relation, according to the New York Times.
NVIDIA announced the same day that it will be conducting an independent investigation into the affair.
A couple of days later the company said it was enlisting the help of ex-US State Attorney Joon H. Kim of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to ensure that national security had not been compromised.
Security concerns were raised as US officials alleged that Alice Huang is a spy working on behalf of China.
It was then revealed, again by the New York Times, that Jensen was involved in a second extramarital affair, with direct report Kimberly Powell, NVIDIA VP of Healthcare.
NVIDIA’s strength has always come from its people, and together with our leadership team, I am committed to building on the extraordinary foundation Jensen created over the last 33 years.”
- NVIDIA was the second largest company in the world earlier this month
- Market cap was US$4tn before the scandals broke out
- NVIDIA is expected to release its Q3 results on 17 November
- Q3 revenue predictions were US$108bn
- Q2 revenue was US$96.2bn
Hyphenate Valued at US$270m Following Series A Funding Round
Hyphenate, a finance platform designed for CFOs, has been valued at US$270m after it secured US$45m in a Series A funding round.
The round was led by Nexus Venture Partners and backed by B Capital, Foundation Capital, BoldCap and Gaia Ventures. Hyphenate’s total funding reached US$54m.
Hyphenate plans to use the capital raised to extend its agents further across the finance function and into strategic finance.
The raise comes less than a month after Hyphenate changed its name from Maximor and a year since it closed a US$9m seed round to reduce repetitive work for finance teams.
Since then, the firm has passed the multi-million-dollar annual recurring revenue mark, and its customer base has grown more than tenfold across the last 12 months.
Commenting on the growth of the company in the past year, Hyphenate CEO Ramnandan Krishnamurthy says: “In the last year, we’ve grown revenue 86 times and our customer base 11 times, including six public companies.
“It goes beyond the business. Finance leaders are back on the strategic decisions they were hired for. Teams take [paid time off] during close. Parents are home for dinner.
“This round is how we take that from dozens of companies to every enterprise.”
Pfizer Appoints First Female CFO Following Strong Quarter
Pfizer has named Cecile Guegan, a company veteran, to serve as its next Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President following a three-month term as interim CFO.
She replaces former Pfizer CFO Dave Denton, who stepped down in August for an opportunity outside the pharmaceutical industry.
Cecile – who will be Pfizer’s first-ever female CFO – has held finance roles with Pfizer throughout her two-decade-long career there.
She will be responsible for driving the company’s financial operations, execution and strategic planning.
Cecile will also oversee all corporate finance functions, including audit, treasury, investor relations, tax, insurance, operations planning and analysis, corporate controllership, and business finance and analytics.
Binance CFO Departs Company Following US$6.3bn Crypto Hack
Kaiser Ng, the Chief Financial Officer at Binance – the world’s largest crypto exchange – has announced he will be leaving the company following the recent US$6.3bn hacking incident that impacted the entire platform.
Binance co-CEO Yi He comments on Kaiser’s departure, saying the outgoing CFO was pursuing “a new venture after more than five years at Binance”.
She adds that she wishes Kaiser well in his next role and that Justin Yek, a former VP of finance at Airwallex, will become the company’s new CFO.
Discussing his new role, Justin says: “Kaiser leaves behind a world-class finance team, and I’m grateful for his partnership and support throughout the transition over the past few months.”
He adds that he looks forward to leading Binance’s “talented team” as it continues to “scale responsibly and advance Binance’s mission globally”.
British Business Bank Backs SME Growth with Funds to Harwood
Harwood Private Capital has received £40m (US$53.1m) in funding from the British Business Bank (BBB).
The new round of financing brings the total pot of funding in the Harwood Private Capital UK Fund II to £120m (US$159.3m), with aims of spreading the capital to back smaller and lower mid-market private companies in the UK.
Speaking to Finance Chief exclusively, Adam Kelly, Managing Director, Debt & Regional Funds, British Business Bank says: “Debt funds are an important source of growth capital for smaller businesses, particularly for companies seeking an alternative to traditional bank lending, private equity or M&A transactions.”
The BBB has committed a total of £75m (US$99.5m) to Harwood, with the latest financing topping up the previous £35m (US$46.4m) the bank dedicated to Harwood’s inaugural fund Harwood Private Capital UK SME Fund, in 2020.
The capital can be used to help smaller businesses pursue avenues such as expansion, acquisition and shareholder transitions.
Executives
Cecile Guegan
Chief Financial Officer
Colette Kress
Executive Vice President and CFO
Kaiser Ng
Former Chief Financial Officer
Ramnandan Krishnamurthy
Co-founder & CEO
