Jensen Huang has shared a ‘life-long work’ lesson that he has learned from his mother. Nvidia’s CEO revealed that his mother taught him English even though she didn’t speak the language herself. Huang described this mindset as a valuable lesson he applies to his approach at the chip giant. During a discussion with the Cambridge Union, Huang recounted the experience, saying, “My mom taught me English, and she doesn’t speak English. And that kind of tells you all.” He pointed out that his mother’s determined approach to encouragement and teaching will stay with him throughout his life and career. Huang was born in Taiwan and his family later moved to Thailand. When he was nine, he and his older brother were sent to the US for better educational opportunities. He explained that his mother, who primarily spoke Taiwanese Hokkien, began teaching them English to prepare them for their upcoming move to the US.
How Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s mother taught him English
According to a report by Business Insider, Jensen Huang said his mother used a “piece of paper and a dictionary”to teach him the language, despite not being able to read English.“In a lot of ways that kind of defines Nvidia, kind of defines me. I approach almost everything from the perspective of, ‘How hard can it be?’” he added.Talking about being a first-time CEO, Jensen Huang acknowledged that challenges can “be really hard,” including securing funding for Nvidia and writing a business plan for the first time.
“Staying in the game is in fact most of it. I was able to do what I’m doing today because I didn’t get bored and I didn’t get fired. That I think was the magic, all of it. It’s 100% of it,” Huang continued.Jensen Huang cofounded the chipmaker in 1993 and led it through its 1999 public listing. Nvidia recently reached a $5 trillion valuation as interest in AI continued to grow.The CEO is recognised for promoting open communication and a hands-on management approach, which includes working directly with up to 36 reports, another Business Insider report from last month claimed.Nvidia vice president Vladimir Troy also recently took to the professional networking site LinkedIn to claim that despite the company’s valuation reaching $5 trillion, executives, including VPs, still fly economy class and do not receive special perks. He said the policy reflects Huang’s emphasis on a “one team” culture.“No special treatment; everyone equal to focus on the mission and do their life’s work,” Troy said, noting that Nvidia VPs do not have executive assistants.Nvidia reportedly maintains a flat organisational structure to reduce hierarchy and office politics, with Huang directly overseeing many reports to improve communication. A former Nvidia VP said, “It’s not that management hierarchies aren’t respected; there’s reasons for it,” adding that Jensen Huang believes leaders should continue learning and step in to help when needed. However, some executives do appear to have assistants, and Huang himself may use a private jet at times, which is common among tech CEOs.Apart from Jensen Huang, Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of Telegram, also credits his parents for shaping his approach to work and perseverance.In a post shared on the 12th anniversary of Telegram’s founding in August an, Durov took to social media site X (formerly Twitter) and wrote:
“Watching my father work tirelessly on numerous books and scientific papers showed me and my brother the meaning of dedication and inspired us to work hard too.”
