Oracle appoints new co-CEOs as AI-fuelled cloud surge reshapes company

Oracle has officially entered a new chapter. The software giant said Monday it is elevating Clay Magouyrk, president of cloud infrastructure, and Mike Sicilia, president of industries, to the role of co-CEOs. Safra Catz, one of the most prominent women in corporate America and Oracle’s CEO since 2014, will shift to executive vice chair on the board. Larry Ellison, meanwhile, stays on as chairman and chief technology officer — still the company’s most influential figure.

The transition comes at a time when Oracle is riding the wave of the artificial intelligence boom. Once seen as a laggard in cloud computing, Oracle has turned itself into one of the hottest names on Wall Street by offering scarce Nvidia GPUs and its Gen2 infrastructure to customers racing to deploy AI. Its stock has surged 85% this year, including a 30% jump in the past month, fuelled by strong earnings and eye-watering contract wins. A standout: a $300 billion, five-year deal with OpenAI that kicks in from 2027.

Ellison made it clear the appointments are about AI. “A few years ago, Clay and Mike committed Oracle’s Infrastructure and Applications businesses to AI — it’s paying off,” he said. The company even branded Monday’s leadership webcast: AI Changes Everything.

Magouyrk spearheaded Oracle’s Gen2 cloud platform, which helped it win deals from TikTok to Zoom. Sicilia drove Oracle’s applications for sectors like banking and retail. Both now take over as Catz steps back after a 25-year run at Oracle, during which she sold over $2.5 billion worth of stock this year alone.