Larry Ellison, co-founder and CEO of Oracle, has stepped down after 37 years, taking on the position of executive chairman of Oracle’s board of directors and chief technology officer.
Safra Catz, previously co-president and CFO, and Mark Hurd, previously co-president and member of the board, will replace the founder as co-CEOs of the technology brand.
Catz will be responsible for manufacturing, finance and legal functions, while sales, service, vertical industry and global business functions will report to Hurd. Ellison will still have a prominent role as chairman and CTO with all software and hardware engineering units reporting to the co-founder.
Meanwhile, Jeff Henley, Oracle’s chairman for the last 10 years has been appointed Oracle’s vice chairman of the board.
Ellison commented: “Safra and Mark will now report to the Oracle Board rather than to me. All the other reporting relationships will remain unchanged. The three of us have been working well together for the last several years, and we plan to continue working together for the foreseeable future. Keeping this management team in place has always been a top priority of mine.”
Presiding director of the company’s board, Dr. Michael Boskin, said: “Larry has made it very clear that he wants to keep working full time and focus his energy on product engineering, technology development and strategy.
“Safra and Mark are exceptional executives who have repeatedly demonstrated their ability to lead, manage and grow the company. The directors are thrilled that the best senior executive team in the industry will continue to move the company forward into a bright future.”
Image via Flickr/JavierPedreira
