- Oracle co-CEO Mark Hurd has passed away. Hurd is survived by his wife Paula and two daughters.
Mark Hurd, the co-CEO of Oracle has passed away. This was confirmed by Oracle founder and chairman Larry Ellison. Hurd is survived by his wife Paula and two daughters.
“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. 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,” wrote Ellison in a memo that was published on MarkHurd.com.
Hurd went on a leave of absence from Oracle about a month ago due to medical reasons. Oracle had named Hurd as a co-CEO and board director in 2014. And Hurd shared the title of co-CEO at Oracle with Safra Catz. When Hurd went on medical leave, Ellison filled in for those duties. At Oracle, Hurd oversaw marketing while Catz handled the financial and operational responsibilities.
Hurd began working at Oracle in 2010 after resigning from the position of CEO at Hewlett Packard. Ellison believed that HP made a mistake for firing Hurd so he decided to put him in an executive position at Oracle. When Hurd stepped down, he acknowledged that there were instances where he did not “live up to the standards and principles” of the comapny.
HP ended up suing Oracle for hiring Hurd over trade secret concerns and eventually a settlement was reached. Under Hurd’s leadership, Oracle rapidly grew its cloud computing business. As part of the settlement, Hurd waived his rights to about 345,000 RSUs, which were granted to him in January 2008 and December 2009, according to Reuters.
Hurd was born in New York City back in 1957. Then he went to high school in Miami and college at Baylor University in Texas back in 1979. Hurd started his career at NCR as a junior salesman in 1980 and became CEO in 2003. Then he was named CEO of HP in 2005 and was succeeded by Carly Fiorina. Hurd had met his wife Paula at NCR where they worked together.
Last year, Mark and Paula Hurd gave a lead gift to launch the public phase of Give Light, which is a $1.1 billion comprehensive philanthropic campaign for the future of Baylor and of which the Hurds served as campaign co-chairs. This gift was one of the largest in Baylor history.
“The Baylor University Family extends its deepest sympathy to the family, friends and colleagues of Oracle CEO and Baylor Board of Regents Vice Chair Mark Hurd, whose love and support for his alma mater and our students never wavered throughout his lifetime,” said Baylor President Linda Livingstone, Ph.D. “Many on our campus know Mark because of his lifelong love of tennis as a student-athlete and a generous supporter of Baylor’s national championship tennis program, which is housed in the building that bears his name, the Hurd Tennis Center. Most recently, Mark and his wife, Paula, served as co-chairs for our Give Light philanthropic campaign, and it was the Hurds who stepped forward with an inspirational gift for the Mark and Paula Hurd Welcome Center, which will transform the campus and provide a welcoming front door to Baylor for generations to come.”
Photo Credit: MarkHurd.com
