SAN FRANCISCO: Former Hewlett-Packard Co. CEO Mark Hurd is in talks to take a
top executive job at Oracle Corp., the database software maker run by his friend
Larry Ellison, a person with direct knowledge of the discussions said
Sunday.
It wasn't immediately clear what job Hurd would take. But the person told
The Associated Press that Ellison, the only person to serve as Oracle's CEO
since he founded the company 33 years ago, wouldn't be leaving that post. This
person emphasized that the talks were not yet finalized.
The person was not authorized to discuss the confidential negotiations
and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The possibility of Hurd landing at Oracle isn't a surprise. Ellison was
vocal in coming to Hurd's defense after Hurd's sudden resignation Aug. 6 in the
wake of a sexual harassment investigation.
Hurd's resignation was stunning because he was widely praised on Wall
Street.
nvestors praised his cost-cutting; HP announced about 50,000 job cuts
over the five years Hurd was CEO. Wall Street also liked that he engineered more
than $20 billion in acquisitions, which helped HP reduce its dependence on
printer ink for the bulk of its profits. HP is now a major player in technology
services and computer networking.
Those traits could help Hurd at Oracle, which is also known for
aggressive dealmaking and cost cuts.
Hurd would also join Oracle at an interesting juncture for both
companies.
Oracle, the No. 1 database software maker, and HP, the No. 1 personal
computer and printer maker, are longtime partners that are increasingly squaring
off against each other. Oracle's $7.4 billion acquisition of Sun Microsystems
last year made it a competitor to HP in the market for computer servers.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Hurd's job talks with Oracle
earlier.
In coming to Hurd's defense following his resignation, Ellison called
HP's decision to oust Hurd the worst personnel decision since Apple Inc. forced
out Steve Jobs - another of Ellison's friends - 25 years ago. Jobs later
returned and lifted Apple out of a funk, turning it onto a top maker of
consumer-electronics products.
Ellison has said the HP board's decision to publicly disclose the
harassment claim against Hurd amounted to "cowardly corporate political
correctness," as the board had found that Hurd didn't violate the company's
sexual harassment policies.
The investigation unearthed inaccurate expense reports connected with
Hurd's outings with his eventual accuser, an actress and HP contractor named
Jodie Fisher.
The substance of her claim was that her work helping organize HP events
dried up after she rebuffed Hurd's advances. Hurd, 53, who is married with two
children, denies making any advances on Fisher. Hurd also insists he didn't
prepare his own expenses and didn't try to conceal his outings with Fisher,
which often included dinner after the events Fisher helped organize and that
Hurd attended.
HP has emphasized that its board voted unanimously for Hurd's
resignation. - AP
-- THE STAR |