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HUNGRY The Appetite of a CEO

by Parker Malchowsky

“P

rime Rib French Dip! Have you ever heard of that before?” I hadn’t, but, seeing the childlike excitement on his face, I could tell I was in for a treat.

Business first, though. Mr. Jen-Hsun Huang and I sit down to talk. He is relaxed, but I can tell his mind is elsewhere. Lulls in the conversation are filled with questions like, “Can you smell that?” or “What type

of bread should we use?”

After just dipping my toes into the life of a high tech CEO, I grant his wish and release him from our interview. The kitchen quickly swallows him up.

I am close behind, yet by the time I make it out of his office, he already has sauces, salads, and a thirty-pound plate of meat aligned on the counter. We make two trips to get it all out to the backyard. JenHsun fires up his Teppanyaki grill, an exotic fusion of a table, a griddle, and a

stove. Showing remarkable restraint, he first cleans the grill of all its imperfections.

Only when it is perfect does he begin to cook. With spatula in hand, he tosses food around with a precision and focus that borders on mania. We try to hold a conversation, but JenHsun periodically becomes wholly consumed with his cooking. It’s hard to believe this is just his hobby.

But then again, it’s not so hard to believe. JenHsun built one of the most relevant and successful semiconductor companies in the world, and he did so by virtue of obsessive dedication. As his close friend, Jens Hosrtman, points out, “Running a company is just like running a kitchen.” Jen-Hsun is bril-

liant at both. As the President, CEO, Chairman of the Board, and cofounder of NVIDIA Corporation, he leads a team of ~9,000 (5,000 local) who tirelessly strive to redefine visual computing. NVIDIA provides the computational engines for such cutting edge systems, from the Tesla Model S to the world’s fastest supercomputer. Greatness was no accident for Mr. Huang and the employees who serve under his leadership.

NVIDIA is a company dedicated to putting out great work. Jen-Hsun wouldn’t allow it any other way.

This commitment to the exceptional runs deep in his life. Amid the chaotic innovations of Silicon Valley, Jen-Hsun and his wife, Lori, raised two

well-rounded, passionate children. As with his other baby, NVIDIA, Jen-Hsun offers an unflagging love and support that has allowed them to succeed in all they pursue. Jen-Hsun and Lori are also tenaciously devoted to the community.

At every opportunity, Mr. Huang gives back, and does so sincerely and modestly.

Perhaps Jen-Hsun feels a loyalty to underprivileged individuals because of his own humble beginnings. In 1973, social unrest in Thailand prompted Jen-Hsun’s parents to send him and his brother across the globe to live with their Uncle in Oregon – “true courage” ac-

cording to JenHsun. When the two brothers proved too rambunctious for their uncle, they were sent to what appeared to be a conservative boarding school.

Oneida Baptist Institute turned out to be a “very special school” in Jen-Hsun’s words. At just nine-years old, Jen-Hsun had a seventeen-year-old roomate, much older and more mature. His first night there, Jen-Hsun noticed the wounds covering the boy’s body. He had just returned from the hospital after a knife fight. The characteristic “other guy” in the fight sustained fatal injuries.

That night, young, innocent Jen-Hsun fell asleep next to a murderer.

Oneida Baptist Institute was a tough school, but a CEO needs to be tough. Leaders garner respect by fearlessly attacking difficult problems, an expertise Jen-Hsun honed while at Oneida.

He Through the years.

loved his time there. The work was hard, but at the end of each day he could sit on his windowsill and pick apples. After Oneida, he eventually attended Oregon State University, where he met his Lori. He went on to study at Stanford, and then worked at Advanced Micro Devices and LSI Logic. In 1993, Jen-Hsun, Curtis Priem, and Chris Malachowsky founded NVIDIA Corporation.

From its inception, Jen-Hsun has been its leader, and a great leader, at that.

In his book Good to Great, Jim Collins argues strong leaders are able to guide teams past simply good performance to achieve the truly great. NVIDIA doesn’t stop at good, and neither does Jen-Hsun.

Just after a 1-hour long “fireside chat” with Tesla’s Elon Musk, JenHsun asks me if I want to go get tacos.

He assures me it’s a great place. Once we have a seven-plate assortment in front of us (I let Jen-Hsun do the ordering), I ask him how he approaches talking to such an intimidating figure in front of a room of 200 of his employees. He takes another bite.

“I watched five hours of Elon Musk interviews on Youtube.” He looks at me like this is standard protocol. “That way I can ask him the ques-

tions no one else has.”

Even when talking to someone, Jen-Hsun finds a way to innovate.

He felt a responsibility

“I know Jen-Hsun: he doesn’t like coming in second.”

-Chris Malachowsky, co-founder of Nvidia to Musk and his employees to deliver something extraordinary. And he did, with each fresh, never-before voiced question. Jen-Hsun leads by an example that I find simply exhausting. One can’t help but wonder how, and why, he got this way.

Fellow cofounder, Chris Malachowsky, explains,

“…as a young man he was a ping-pong champion, played in a national doubles tournament. He came in second. I know Jen-Hsun: he doesn’t like coming in second. So maybe it’s that effort it took to get to the championship and not coming away with the big prize that motivated him as a professional.” Sitting in on several meetings with Mr. Haung, it is apparent he wants to win. He wants NVIDIA to be the best. Competitors beware: Jen-Hsun has tasted defeat before and refuses to do so again. Mr. Malachowsky concludes, “Whatever it is, the man clearly has the drive for perfection, the drive for greatness, the drive to avoid mediocrity.”

When I brought this point up to Jen-Hsun, I was excited to hear he had never before thought of this connection between his past Ping-Pong defeat and current tenacity to win. Yet, it struck a chord as he was taken back to a time where

things like bright lights and a national stage still had an effect on him.

Thinking back to his first time in Las Vegas at the Table Tennis US Open, he explains, “If I were there today, I would have been able to ignore all the distractions; I would know exactly why I was there. I would be in the moment; I would have enjoyed the living daylights out of it. Today, I am a master of knowing what that moment is. Every day matters. But there’s a moment that really matters for a leader to be at the top of his game, to harness and bring together the company so that we are all at the top of our game. I recognize that winners don’t always play their best, but they seem to always play their best when the points matter.”

And like any great coach, Jen-Hsun knows how to bring the best out of his players. John C Maxwell, in his book The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, explains that leaders don’t see themselves as bosses, but more as an enablers. When I

brought this idea up to Jen-Hsun, he did what he always does; he “broke it down.” He says, “The single most important resource is inspiration. It’s hope. It’s aspiration. It’s feeling. So what leaders do is inspire others and create energy from nothing.” Giving so much would take a toll on anyone.

At the end of a long day of meetings, JenHsun puts his glasses on the table and rubs his eyes for a long time. This allows him a quick rest from the fluorescent lights, endless string of meetings, and formal negotiations that typically define his day.

While visiting NVIDIA’s campuses in India, Jen-Hsun found many employees desperately wanted a picture and

a hug. Knowing the importance of his influence, he posed and embraced for three days straight. JenHsun is a rock star to his workers. For his employees, he stands as an example of someone who loves what he does and strives to excel in all facets of his job. It’s no different than when he picks up a spatula or a Ping-Pong paddle.

Some consider him obsessed, but JenHsun has always seen himself as lucky for getting to work every day.

Contributing to NVIDIA offers Jen-Hsun an opportunity to matter.

When talking about him with Chris Malachowsky and Jens Horstman, a word kept coming up: relevant. Mr. Huang always strives to be relevant, and he wants the same for his c o m p a n y,

“Very few people and very few companies can say we are the world’s best at what we do. You just have to think about that for a second.”

-Jen-Hsun Huang, CEO of Nvidia

community, and family.

Horstman told me of a conversation he shared with Jen-Hsun many years ago. He asked him if he missed hands-on engineering work. Jens explains, “He almost perplexed me in saying ‘not at all.’” JenHsun is not one to look backwards. He presses forward with the resolution of a mad man. And every once in a while, some kid comes along with a school project and demands he reflects on what he has done. JenHsun leads

once more in saying, “Very few people and very few companies can say we are the world’s best at what we do. You just have to think about that for a second.”