Software company Oracle hired former Hewlett-Packard chief executive officer Mark Hurd as a president and member of the board, reporting to CEO Larry Ellison.
The company also said in a statement that Charles Phillips resigned as president and director. Mr Hurd, who exited HP last month after the company said he violated standards of business conduct, will serve alongside Oracle president Safra Catz.
At HP, Mr Hurd more than tripled profit by cutting costs and expanding beyond the company's core business of computers and printers. He oversaw an acquisition spree of more than $20 billion, letting the company branch out into services, networking equipment and smartphones. Oracle, which also has bulked up through takeovers, would draw on Mr Hurd's background blending software and hardware as it expands into server sales.
"It's a great fit: As Oracle transitions from a software to a hardware company, who better than him?" said Brent Thill, an analyst at UBS AG in San Francisco who recommends buying Oracle shares. "They're looking for someone who can take the company above $30 billion; he ran a company that was more than $100 billion. He's got a very big role and is very capable of running the company someday."
Mr Hurd brings to Oracle experience running a computer company triple Oracle's size, a track record of delivering shareholder returns and the ability to one day become CEO should the 66-year-old Ellison step aside, Mr Thill said. The addition of Hurd could also aid Oracle's acquisition strategy, he said yesterday in a note to clients.
Mr Hurd (53) exited HP after an investigation of a sexual harassment allegation found inaccurate expense reports filed by Hurd or in his name. While the company determined that Mr Hurd didn't violate the harassment policy, it found that he concealed a personal relationship with his accuser, Jodie Fisher, a former actress who handled executive events. Mr Hurd and Ms Fisher settled her complaint out of court.
Prior to HP, Mr Hurd led a turnaround at NCR, where he helped integrate the company's hardware business with the acquisition of Teradata, a software maker. Mr Ellison cited that experience, along with Mr Hurd's time at HP, when he named him to the job.
"Mark did a brilliant job at HP and I expect he'll do even better at Oracle," Mr Ellison said in a statement. "There is no executive in the IT world with more relevant experience than Mark."
Mr Ellison upbraided HP's board last month for letting Mr Hurd go, comparing the move to Apple's firing of Steve Jobs in the 1980s. In a letter to the New York Times, Mr Ellison said, "The HP board just made the worst personnel decision since the idiots on the Apple board fired Steve Jobs many years ago."
Bloomberg