Oracle hires ousted HP exec
Hurd joining software giant as co-president, board director
LOS ANGELES – Software giant Oracle Corp. has tapped former Hewlett-Packard Co. chief executive Mark Hurd to be a company co-president and a director on its board.
Hurd, 53, resigned as head of HP, the world’s largest computer maker, on Aug. 6 after a former contract worker for the company accused him of sexual harassment.
HP’s investigations found no evidence for harassment, but uncovered “violations of HP’s Standards of Business Conduct” related to his expense reports, according to the company’s statement announcing his departure. Hurd had been at the Palo Alto, Calif., company for five years.
At Oracle, Hurd will report directly to Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, according to a statement released late Monday afternoon.
Hurd, through a spokesman, declined to comment.
The company on Monday also announced the resignation of Charles Phillips, one of Oracle’s two co-presidents. It did not give a reason for his departure. Safra Catz, the other Oracle president, remains with the company.
Oracle, which once focused primarily on selling business software, in recent months has diversified into selling the computers that run the software, putting the Redwood City, Calif., company in direct competition with computer makers such as HP and IBM Corp.