Oracle’s “future is bright”, founder Larry Ellison proclaimed yesterday as the vendor giant appointed two new CEOs vaunted for their AI smarts.
Having seen its market value soar to nearly $1tn this month following an “astonishing” quarter, Oracle has moved to promote Clay Magouyrk and Mike Sicilia to the role of Co-CEOs.
Previous CEO Safra Catz will move to the Executive Vice Chair seat, with Ellison remaining as CTO.
Here we round up five facts partner need to know…
1. Two for the price of one
By making Magouyrk and Sicilia co-leaders, Oracle has returned to the two-heads-are-better-than one policy it followed last decade when Catz shared the hotseat with the late Mark Hurd.
Having Co-CEOs is relatively rare in the industry, with rivals Salesforce and SAP among the few others to have dabbled in the practice (which was, incidentally, declared “dead” in this article back in 2021).
Oracle’s two new CEOs represent the two sides of Oracle’s business, with Magouyrk previously heading up Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) and Sicilia boasting an applications bent as the former President of Oracle Industries.
2. Building on Oracle’s bull run
Magouyrk and Sicilia’s promotions come as Oracle’s fortunes hit new highs on the back of feverish demand for AI infrastructure.
Its market value is now nudging $1tn following an “astonishing” set of fiscal Q1 2026 numbers. The bull run briefly made Ellison the world’s richest person on 10 September.
They showed its RPO (Remaining Performance Obligations) backlog rocketing 359% to $455bn as it signed four multi-billion contracts during the period.
According to reports, the $30bn-a-year-plus deal Oracle cryptically referenced earlier this summer is none other than a $300bn cloud infrastructure project with OpenAI (slated to begin in 2027).
3. A reward for AI acumen
Magouyrk and Sicilia’s AI prowess appear to have been the pivotal factor in their elevation.
Ellison himself said the duo had “a few years ago, committed Oracle’s Infrastructure and Applications businesses to AI,” adding that this commitment is “paying off”.
“Humanity is investing enormous resources in the race to advance Artificial Intelligence. Oracle Cloud Infrastructure is playing a major part in that effort,” Ellison stated.
“Clay’s years of experience leading Oracle’s large, fast-growing Cloud Infrastructure business has demonstrated his readiness for a CEO role.
“Mike has spent the last several years modernising Oracle’s Industry applications businesses -including Oracle Health – by completely rebuilding those applications using the latest AI technologies.”
4. The Catz whiskers
Ellison was quick to talk up the achievements of Catz, who has served as Oracle’s CEO since 2014 and will now become Executive Vice Chair of the Oracle Board of Directors.
The former investment banking exec ranked 11th in Oxygen’s Greatest Vendor Leaders of the 21st Century, with our panellists crediting her with being “the brains behind Oracle’s growth”.
“Safra led Oracle as we became a hyperscale cloud powerhouse – clearly demonstrated by our recent results,” Ellison stated.
“Today, Oracle is recognized as the cloud of choice for both AI training and inferencing. I’m very proud of that,” Catz added.
“At this time of strength is the right moment to pass the CEO role to the next generation of capable executives.”
5. Backing Britain
The game of top exec musical chairs follows Oracle’s pledge last week to invest $5bn in the UK to support the government’s “vision for AI innovation and adoption”.
It was among a gaggle of US tech giants committing large sums as part of a wider pact between the two countries.
Oracle claimed the investment will mean it can help more UK organisations take advantage of the latest AI innovations such as AI agents.
“The UK Government’s vision is clear: use AI to help power the UK’s future,” stated Siobhan Wilson, senior vice president and country leader, Oracle UK. “Today’s announcement cements Oracle’s commitment to supporting this vision.”
