Oracle Corp. on Monday appointed Clay Magouyrk and Mike Sicilia as joint chief executive officers, marking a significant leadership shift as longtime CEO Safra Catz transitions to executive vice chair of the board.
Magouyrk, who has spent 11 years at Oracle, previously served as president of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, where he led the development of its Gen2 platform.
Sicilia, most recently president of Oracle Industries, focused on applied artificial intelligence initiatives across sectors such as banking and retail.
Catz, who became co-CEO in 2014 alongside the late Mark Hurd and later led the company as sole CEO, said the timing was right for a handover.
“At this time of strength is the right moment to pass the CEO role to the next generation of capable executives,” she said in a statement.
As part of the transition, Catz will no longer serve as Oracle’s principal financial officer, a role that will now be assumed by Douglas Kehring.
Ellison’s endorsement
Oracle chairman Larry Ellison praised the appointments, saying both executives had already positioned Oracle’s businesses for artificial intelligence.
“A few years ago, Clay and Mike committed Oracle’s Infrastructure and Applications businesses to AI—it’s paying off,” he said.
“They are both proven leaders, and I am looking forward to spending the coming years working side-by-side with them. Oracle’s future is bright.”
Compensation for the new co-CEOs will differ. Magouyrk will receive a $250 million stock package, while Sicilia’s package is valued at $100 million, the company disclosed in a filing.
Market reaction
Oracle’s shares slipped 1.3% in premarket trading in New York following the announcement.
The stock has surged about 30% in the past month after first-quarter results pointed to rapid cloud growth driven by the artificial intelligence boom. Shares are up roughly 85% for the year.
The company also said its remaining performance obligations—contracted revenue not yet recognized—rose to $455 billion, up 359% from a year earlier.
Oracle reaffirmed its financial guidance on Monday.
Role in TikTok deal
Alongside the leadership changes, Oracle is set to play a central role in the restructuring of TikTok’s US operations.
A White House official said Oracle will recreate and oversee a US version of TikTok’s algorithm under a proposed sale of the app to American investors.
US-based TikTok owners would lease a copy of the algorithm from ByteDance Ltd., TikTok’s Chinese parent.
Oracle would then retrain it “from the ground up,” while also storing US user data on a secure cloud system it manages.
“Oracle, the US security partner, will operate, retrain, and continuously monitor the US algorithm to ensure content is free from improper manipulation or surveillance,” the official said.
The arrangement is intended to address concerns from US lawmakers about data security and foreign influence, though questions remain over how fully TikTok can be disentangled from ByteDance.
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