Oracle names two CEOs in rare leadership shift after Catz exit

Oracle has named two senior executives as chief executive officers, replacing longtime leader Safra Catz, who will transition to the role of executive vice chair. The software company announced on Monday that Clay Magouyrk, president of Oracle’s cloud infrastructure business, and Mike Sicilia, who heads Oracle Industries, will now serve as CEOs.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the decision follows months of internal discussion and comes after Oracle’s strong quarterly performance, which included record cloud forecasts and multibillion-dollar contracts. Catz, 63, who became co-CEO in 2014 and sole CEO in 2019, said the time was right to hand over leadership. “At this time of strength is the right moment to pass the CEO role to the next generation of capable executives,” she said.

Catz had been one of the most prominent female executives in global technology and will continue to work closely with co-founder and chairman Larry Ellison.

The appointment of two CEOs is unusual but not unprecedented. Netflix currently operates under a dual-CEO model, while other companies have abandoned similar arrangements after internal frictions. Oracle, however, has prior experience with co-CEOs: Catz herself shared the role with Mark Hurd until his death in 2019.

Oracle has described Magouyrk and Sicilia as CEOs, not co-CEOs, and said their responsibilities would remain largely the same as before. Magouyrk will continue to lead the cloud division, while Sicilia will focus on product sales and global customer engagement.

Management experts note that shared leadership can create tensions. Peter Cappelli, professor at the Wharton School, told Reuters that “generally people don’t think this is a good thing. The question will be, ‘Can these folks get along?’” He added, however, that Oracle’s situation is distinctive given Ellison’s central role in strategic decision-making.

The leadership change comes against a backdrop of rapid growth in Oracle’s cloud business. Less than two weeks ago, the company projected cloud infrastructure revenue would rise 77% this fiscal year to $18 billion, buoyed by contracts for artificial intelligence training. The Wall Street Journal reported that Oracle added $317 billion in future contract revenue during the quarter ending 31 August, including about $300 billion from OpenAI.

Magouyrk, 39, has been central to Oracle’s cloud expansion. A former Amazon Web Services engineer, he helped design Oracle’s Generation 2 cloud infrastructure, which the company says has become the “go-to platform for AI training and inference.”

Sicilia, 54, brings expertise in applied AI and industry-specific solutions. He joined Oracle in 2008 through its acquisition of Primavera Systems and later led Oracle Health, including its $28 billion acquisition of electronic medical records provider Cerner.

Oracle emphasised both executives’ AI credentials, signalling that the technology will remain central to its growth strategy.

Safra Catz’s legacy

Catz joined Oracle in 1999 and became one of Larry Ellison’s most trusted lieutenants. As chief financial officer and later as CEO, she oversaw years of acquisitions and financial discipline, while Ellison led product development.

Ellison praised her leadership on Monday, saying: “Safra led Oracle as we became a hyperscale cloud powerhouse—clearly demonstrated by our recent results. In her role as vice chair, Safra and I will be able to continue our 26-year partnership—helping to guide Oracle’s direction, growth and success.”

Catz had told colleagues she did not expect to remain CEO for much longer, according to people familiar with the matter. Executives decided to move ahead with succession planning after Oracle’s strong quarterly results gave the company momentum.

Alongside the CEO transition, Oracle announced other leadership changes. Mark Hura, executive vice president of North America sales, will become president of Global Field Operations. Doug Kehring, executive vice president of operations, will take on the role of principal financial officer, effectively functioning as chief financial officer.

Based in Austin, Texas, Oracle has a market capitalisation of roughly $925 billion. The company is one of the world’s largest providers of database and enterprise software and has become a major player in cloud computing as demand for AI infrastructure accelerates.