Oracle Co-CEO Mark Hurd died Friday morning at the age of 62.
Hurd, part of Oracle’s top executive team including fellow co-CEO Safra Catz and chairman Larry Ellison, took a leave of absence from the database giant in September, citing unspecified health reasons.
Ellison said in a public note about Hurd on Friday, “It is with a profound sense of sadness and loss that I tell everyone here at Oracle that Mark Hurd passed away early this morning.”
Hurd joined Oracle as president in 2010 after resigning from Hewlett Packard following an internal investigation of an alleged inappropriate relationship with a contractor. In 2014, he then took on the role of co-CEO after Ellison stepped down as CEO to become chairman and chief technology officer.
During Hurd’s tenure, Oracle tried to adapt to a major shift by providing on-demand computing to companies seeking to reduce their spending on corporate data center hardware. Companies like Amazon and Microsoft gained traction amid the new reality while Oracle struggled.
Executives from other tech companies including Cisco and SAP shared their condolences via Twitter on Friday.
RIP @MarkVHurd – our prayers are with your family and the entire @Oracle family…you will be missed greatly.
— Chuck Robbins (@ChuckRobbins) October 18, 2019
RIP @MarkVHurd – our prayers are with your family and the entire @Oracle family…you will be missed greatly.
Saddened by the loss of Mark Hurd. He was a self-made success in the industry & presided over mega accomplishments. While we competed vigorously in the market, we enjoyed professional respect. My heartfelt prayers are with Mark’s family on this solemn day.
— Bill McDermott (@BillRMcDermott) October 18, 2019
Saddened by the loss of Mark Hurd. He was a self-made success in the industry & presided over mega accomplishments. While we competed vigorously in the market, we enjoyed professional respect. My heartfelt prayers are with Mark’s family on this solemn day.
A number of Oracle employees tweeted about Hurd’s death Friday morning.
Saddened at the loss of our leader, Mark Hurd. I'll never forget gathering in the atrium of the Oracle campus and hearing him talk to the Responsys team about coming over to Oracle. He was blissfully unapologetic about his fierce competitive nature, and drive to win. RIP.
— Ann Rombach (@annrombach1) October 18, 2019
Saddened at the loss of our leader, Mark Hurd. I'll never forget gathering in the atrium of the Oracle campus and hearing him talk to the Responsys team about coming over to Oracle. He was blissfully unapologetic about his fierce competitive nature, and drive to win. RIP.
@OracleHosp @Oracle RIP Mark Hurd 😪#oracle
— Michael Caruso 🇺🇸 (@mdcvegas) October 18, 2019
@OracleHosp @Oracle RIP Mark Hurd 😪#oracle
Just got word our CEO and leader Mark Hurd passed away, sad day @Oracle, glad I had an opportunity to interact with him during my time here. My thoughts are with his family and extended Oracle family during this time
— bkuhlsf (@bkuhlsf) October 18, 2019
Just got word our CEO and leader Mark Hurd passed away, sad day @Oracle, glad I had an opportunity to interact with him during my time here. My thoughts are with his family and extended Oracle family during this time