Troubled Nvidia ally Supermicro pledged to hire a new CFO ‘immediately.’ That was 14 months ago. 

Supermicro Chairman and CEO Charles Liang triumphantly announced to investors in early December 2024 that a special investigation spurred by the abrupt resignation of audit firm Ernst & Young had found no evidence of fraud or misconduct.

The rub? The investigation resulted in a series of recommendations that Supermicro agreed to carry out, including that the IT solutions manufacturer would appoint a chief accounting officer and “immediately” start a search for a new chief financial officer to replace David Weigand, who took the CFO role in February 2021. No wrongdoing was pinned on Weigand, but the committee’s findings stated that there were “lapses” in the rehiring of nine people who had previously resigned in 2018 following an entirely different 2017 audit-related investigation. Given that Weigand, as CFO and chief compliance officer, “had primary responsibility for the process of hiring these employees, he had primary responsibility for processes lapses,” the investigation committee stated. That included Supermicro entering into a consulting arrangement with its former CFO—who had also resigned in relation to the 2017 investigation—and then not informing EY or the board’s audit committee. 

Following the disclosure, Supermicro moved quickly to name Kenneth Cheung as the CAO and principal accounting officer. But more than 14 months and four straight quarters later, Weigand remains in the CFO seat and there hasn’t been an update to investors on the search in public filings in the year since. Weigand spoke with analysts this month when the company announced its second quarter 2026 earnings results, and gave his name for regulatory sign-off purposes. 

The extended hunt for a new CFO underscores the ultra-competitive state of the market for hiring a strategic finance leader who brings extensive audit or accounting expertise as well as credibility with Wall Street. Given Supermicro’s high-profile role in the AI buildout frenzy, the CFO also needs to also have strategic relationships with analysts, investment banks, and market participants. Not to mention, Supermicro has contended with a slew of accounting-related allegations and smoke that have likely made it all the more challenging to find someone to take the job, despite the company’s strong affiliation with high-flyer........

© Fortune