The announcement ends a month of speculation, after Hurd’s resignation from HP on 6 August. He left the company after evidence came to light that he had misused company finances, following an investigation into a sexual harassment claim.
Hurd will be reporting to Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, with whom he is known to be good friends. Ellison also launched a scathing attack on the HP board and his critics following the news of his resignation.
In a statement announcing Hurd’s hiring, Ellison said: “Mark did a brilliant job at HP and I expect he’ll do even better at Oracle.
“There is no executive in the IT world with more relevant experience than Mark. Oracle’s future is engineering complete and integrated hardware and software systems for the enterprise. Mark pioneered the integration of hardware with software when Teradata was a part of NCR.”
Hurd added: “I believe Oracle’s strategy of combining software with hardware will enable Oracle to beat IBM in both enterprise servers and storage.
“Exadata is just the beginning. We have some exciting new systems we are going to announce later this month at Oracle OpenWorld. I’m excited to be a part of the most innovative technology team in the IT industry.”
Meanwhile HP is still looking for a replacement with the help of search firm Spencer Stuart. CFO Cathie Lesjak has been working as interim CEO in the meantime.
Hurd’s departure also lead to a derivative lawsuit by HP shareholders, who are seeking compensation for the negative effect the handling of the news had on their shares.