NEW DELHI: Three Indian-origin business leaders have emerged among the names being discussed as possible successors to Jensen Huang, who stepped down as chief executive of US chipmaker Nvidia after leading the company for more than three decades.

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The executives are Sanjay Mehrotra, who heads memory chipmaker Micron Technology; Nikesh Arora, chairman and CEO of cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks; and Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud.

Nvidia has appointed its Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress as interim CEO and said its board will consider both internal and external candidates while searching for a permanent replacement. The company has not announced an official shortlist.

The leadership change comes at a critical time for Nvidia, whose processors have become central to the global artificial intelligence industry. The next CEO will be expected to maintain the company's position in the AI chip market while managing competition, export restrictions and relationships with major technology customers.

Here is a look at the three Indian-origin executives whose names have surfaced in succession discussions.

1. Sanjay Mehrotra

Sanjay Mehrotra is the chairman and CEO of Micron Technology, one of the world's major memory chip manufacturers. He joined the company in 2017 and has more than four decades of experience in the semiconductor memory industry.

Before joining Micron, Mehrotra co-founded SanDisk in 1988. He led the company from its early years and served as its president and CEO from 2011 until its sale in 2016.

His experience in the semiconductor industry makes him a particularly relevant name in discussions about Nvidia's next chief. Micron supplies memory products used in AI systems, including high-bandwidth memory that plays an important role in advanced computing infrastructure.

Mehrotra's background combines technical knowledge of the chip industry with experience running a major semiconductor company. He holds bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering and computer science from the University of California, Berkeley.

2. Nikesh Arora

Nikesh Arora is the chairman and CEO of Palo Alto Networks, a major cybersecurity company. He took over the leadership role in 2018 after serving as president and chief operating officer of SoftBank Group.

Before SoftBank, Arora spent around a decade at Google, where he held senior positions, including senior vice-president and chief business officer. His responsibilities included global sales operations, business development and regional leadership.

Unlike Mehrotra, Arora's career has not centred on semiconductor manufacturing or chip design. His experience is largely in technology management, business strategy, cybersecurity and leading large global organisations.

His name has reportedly been floated by investors as a possible external choice for Nvidia's top job. Arora holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the Institute of Technology at Banaras Hindu University, along with postgraduate degrees in finance and business administration from US universities.

3. Thomas Kurian

Thomas Kurian has been leading Google Cloud since joining Google in November 2019. The division provides cloud computing infrastructure, software and AI services to businesses, governments and other organisations.

Before moving to Google, Kurian spent 22 years at Oracle, where he held several senior positions. Earlier in his career, he worked at management consulting firm McKinsey.

Kurian's experience is centred on cloud infrastructure, enterprise technology and managing large-scale operations. These areas are relevant to Nvidia because major cloud service providers are among the customers using its processors to build and operate AI infrastructure.

However, his career has not been focused directly on chip design. His name has surfaced in reports about possible external candidates for Nvidia's CEO position.

Kurian holds an electrical engineering and computer science degree from Princeton University and an MBA from Stanford University.

Who else could replace Jensen Huang?

The succession discussions also include executives from within Nvidia and other major technology companies.

Colette Kress, who has taken over as interim CEO, is among the potential internal candidates. She joined Nvidia as its executive vice-president and CFO in 2013 and has been closely involved in its financial management during a period of rapid growth.

Ian Buck, Nvidia's vice-president of hyperscale and high-performance computing, is another internal name. He joined the company in 2004 and played an important role in developing CUDA, Nvidia's software platform that expanded the use of its graphics processors beyond gaming.

Other executives mentioned in media reports include Arm CEO Rene Haas, AMD chief Lisa Su, former Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, Marvell Technology CEO Matt Murphy and Apple's hardware chief Johny Srouji. Former Apple CEO Tim Cook has also surfaced in succession discussions.

However, these names represent reported possibilities and speculation from investors and industry observers, not a confirmed list of candidates.

Nvidia's board has yet to announce a permanent successor. Whoever takes charge will inherit a company at the centre of the AI boom, with the challenge of sustaining its technological lead and navigating an increasingly competitive global semiconductor industry.