Hurd was at Oracle for nine years
FORMER ORACLE CO-CEO Mark Hurd has passed away aged 62.
Hurd’s death, which comes after he took a leave of absence from Oracle in September due to unspecified health reasons, was confirmed by Larry Ellison on Friday.
“It is with a profound sense of sadness and loss that I tell everyone here at Oracle that Mark Hurd passed away early this morning,” Ellison said in a post.
“Mark was my close and irreplaceable friend, and trusted colleague. Oracle has lost a brilliant and beloved leader who personally touched the lives of so many of us during his decade at Oracle.
“All of us will miss Mark’s keen mind and rare ability to analyze, simplify and solve problems quickly. Some of us will miss his friendship and mentorship. I will miss his kindness and sense of humour.
“Mark leaves his beloved wife Paula, two wonderful daughters who were the joy of his life, and his much larger extended family here at Oracle who came to love him.”
Hurd joined Oracle nine years ago, after spending five controversial years at Hewlett-Packard, where he served as CEO, president and board chairman.
One month after he was forced to resign from HP in 2010 for allegedly fiddling expenses, he became the co-president of Oracle, with Ellison slamming HP’s firing of Hurd as “as daft as Apple getting rid of Steve Jobs.”
“Mark did a brilliant job at HP and I expect he’ll do even better at Oracle,” Ellison said at the time. “There is no executive in the IT world with more relevant experience than Mark.”
In 2014, Hurd was made co-CEO of Oracle, a role he shared with Oracle’s former CFO Safra Catz, after Ellison stepped down after 37 years to come chief technology officer. Katz took over the CEO role last month after Hurd announced his leave of absence, though Oracle confirmed that it would seek to retain its co-CEO structure.
“Though we all worked hard together to close the first quarter, I’ve decided that I need to spend time focused on my health, Hurt said at the time. “I love Oracle and wish you all success during my absence. µ