Oracle has announced an immediate CEO change to accelerate the company’s progression into a “hyperscale cloud powerhouse”.
Clay Magouyrk and Mike Sicilia will share the CEO mantle after being promoted from their respective positions as President of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and Oracle Industries.
In a joint statement, the Co-CEOs said: “We are excited to lead Oracle into the AI era, where technological innovation leads to extraordinary business opportunity and hyper-growth.
Our combined strengths in AI, cloud infrastructure, horizontal applications, and industry applications will enable Oracle to deliver the latest AI capabilities to our customers.
Larry Ellison, Chairman of the Board and CTO at Oracle, praised the previous CEO, Safra Catz, for her efforts in leading the company for the past 11 years. “Safra led Oracle as we became a hyperscale cloud powerhouse, clearly demonstrated by our recent results.”
Catz, who now becomes Executive Vice Chair of the Oracle Board of Directors, voiced her approval of her successors, noting how they will solidify the company’s commitment to the new era of AI.
“Oracle’s technology and business have never been stronger,” said Catz. “And our breathtaking growth rate points to an even more prosperous future. At this time of strength is the right moment to pass the CEO role to the next generation of capable executives.”
Why Should CX Leaders Care?
The appointment of new CEOs likely won’t impact Oracle’s mission to prioritize multi-platform customers, work closely with them on large-scale transformations, and innovate around their needs. Big Red doesn’t get too hung up on the latest market trends.
Yet, Sicilia picking up the CEO role, having been the President of Oracle Industries, may hint that its customers want more sector-specific innovation.
That could mean a deeper focus on Oracle’s CX industry solutions, which aim to offer a connected suite of applications that goes beyond traditional CRM.
With these solutions, Oracle remains a top competitor in the CRM industry.
Working beyond the realms of traditional CRM, it enables company-wide data access, including finance, HCM, CRM, and supply chain data. That paves the way to a more comprehensive view of the customer that human and AI agents can work from.
Oracle is also doing more to help its customers’ contact center teams build resolution flows across its enterprise systems, so they can eventually automate “all” customer service.
Yet, despite this aim, it’s delivering AI into its Fusion CRM applications at no additional cost. It’s just built into their offerings and, in many cases, part of a much bigger implementation.
Those massive implementations include modernizing its customers’ infrastructures, which is where Clay Magouyrk’s expertise comes into play.
Referencing this, Ellison highlighted both CEO’s previous work:
A few years ago, Clay and Mike committed Oracle’s Infrastructure and Applications businesses to AI, it’s paying off.
Indeed, Oracle is establishing and expanding its relationships with some of the world’s biggest enterprises. Beyond infrastructure alone, it’s forcing its way into other spaces, like the multi-layered world of customer experience, and offering differentiated innovation.
Take its 2024 launch of a quasi-CPaaS platform, otherwise known as the Enterprise Communications Platform (ECP).
It’s not a solution that will compete with Twilio, Infobip, and Vonage. Instead, it will support existing Oracle customers, allowing them room for greater customization and flexibility in their CX deployments.
