Oracle names new co-CEOs, moving up leadership succession plans after stock rally
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In recent weeks, Oracle has inked a massive cloud commitment with OpenAI and enjoyed its steepest stock rally since 1992.
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NEW YORK - Oracle accelerated its succession plans for top leadership in recent months following a massive acceleration in its cloud business and stock market rally.
In June, the software giant promoted two executives – Mr Clay Magouyrk and Mr Mike Sicilia – to president.
At that time, the plan was to eventually elevate those leaders into co-chief executive roles in a year or two, according to a person who asked not to be named discussing internal plans.
But that day came early. On Sept 22, Mr Magouyrk, 39, and Mr Sicilia, 54, were appointed as the company’s new dual CEOs.
In recent weeks, Oracle has inked a massive cloud commitment with leading artificial intelligence firm OpenAI,
“You want to make a transition like this when things are great,” Ms Safra Catz, the former CEO and now board executive vice-chair, said on Sept 22 on a call with analysts.
The new CEOs now must deliver on the huge infrastructure deals Oracle has inked with customers, weave AI through the company’s wide portfolio of software applications, and protect Oracle’s cash cow – the database business.
Though their titles are the same, Mr Magouyrk will be paid more. He will receive a stock package worth US$250 million (S$320.5 million), while Mr Sicilia will receive one worth US$100 million, the company said in a regulatory filing.
This reflects the importance of Oracle’s cloud infrastructure business, which Wall Street expects to represent the majority of the company’s revenue by 2028.
Much of the recent success of the business has been attributed to Mr Magouyrk, an engineering-focused executive who has led Oracle Cloud Infrastructure since 2020 after joining as one of its first hires.
“This has been the opportunity of my lifetime,” Mr Magouyrk said on the call with analysts.
The division has entered a period of “hypergrowth”, he added.
Mr Magouyrk has long reported directly to chairman Larry Ellison.
The 81-year-old co-founder is also chief technology officer and remains the key decision maker at the company more than a decade after stepping down as CEO.
“Larry will continue to lead Oracle and bring the vision and business acumen which has made us so successful,” Mr Catz said.
Mr Magouyrk has about 23,000 workers reporting up through him, according to people familiar with the figures.
Mr Sicilia joined Oracle in 2009 through the acquisition of Primavera Systems, where he was CTO.
At Oracle, he has focused on developing and selling applications for specific industries such as banking.
He is responsible for much of Oracle’s software stack, Mr Catz said on the call.
Company insiders see Mr Sicilia as an experienced operational and people leader. He oversees about 38,000 workers, including the health division built from the acquisition of digital records company Cerner, and has reported to Mr Catz.
Mr Sicilia plans to help customers adopt the full suite of Oracle’s offerings and weave AI through them, he told analysts on the call.
Oracle’s shares gained 6.3 per cent to US$328.15 on Sept 22. They have jumped 97 per cent in 2025.
The co-CEO model has been a fraught one in software. Salesforce’s Mr Marc Benioff lost two co-CEOs shortly after appointing them. SAP’s Jennifer Morgan departed less than a year after being named co-CEO with Mr Christian Klein. BLOOMBERG
