Mark Hurd, Oracle CEO and Former Top HP, NCR Exec, Dies

Written by Lynn Haber
October 18, 2019

Hurd was "my close and irreplaceable friend, and trusted colleague," said Oracle founder Larry Ellison.

Oracle CEO Mark Hurd, 62, has died, according to the company, just a little more than a month after taking a leave of absence for health-related reasons,

Hurd had a distinguished career in the technology industry where he began his career more than 30 years ago. He was a repeat CEO-offender, having the held the top spot at Oracle, Hewlett Packard, and NCR. At Oracle he shared the CEO title with Safra Catz, beginning in 2014. Hurd joined Oracle in 2010, served as CEO and also as president and board of directors member.

Mark Hurd

He wrote the following to Oracle employees in September: “Though we all worked hard together to close the first quarter, I’ve decided that I need to spend time focused on my health. At my request, the Board of Directors has granted me a medical leave of absence. As you all know, Larry, Safra and I have worked together as a strong team, and I have great confidence that they and the entire executive management team will do a terrific job executing the exciting plans we will showcase at the upcoming OpenWorld. I love Oracle and wish you all success during my absence.”

Hurd was missed at Oracle OpenWorld, the company’s annual conference held last month in San Francisco.

Oracle founder Larry Ellison called Hurd “my close and irreplaceable friend, and trusted colleague,” and said that, “Oracle has lost a brilliant and beloved leader who personally touched the lives of so many of us during his decade at Oracle.”

As CEO, Hurd was responsible for sales, service and corporate strategy. He played a strategic role in shifting the company’s strategy toward the cloud as well as in the acquisition of NetSuite.

Prior to joining Oracle, Hurd was president and CEO at HP from 2005-2010 and served as chairman of the board of directors from 2006-2010. His first and most lengthy career period was spent at NCR Corp., where he held a variety of management operations, sales and marketing roles, rising to CEO in 2003. He worked at NCR for 25 years.

A cause of death was not mentioned but according to some industry executives Hurd was dealing with health challenges for a time.