28. Larry Ellison
Founder and CEO, Oracle – 1977-2014, currently chief technology officer and executive chairman
Still Oracle’s CTO on the cusp of his 80th birthday, Larry Ellison’s longevity is unmatched by any other leader in this countdown.
Two of the 60 channel leaders we approached put the straight-talking software magnate in their top five in a reflection of his enduring impact on the industry.
Having founded Oracle in 1977, Ellison was its CEO until 2014 and continues to play a substantial role in its strategy today. Counting a Hawaiian island among his possessions, he is currently the world’s fifth richest person according to Forbes.
Leadership style
Controversial and direct, Ellison has spoken in the past of the importance of being a technology rebel. “The most important aspect of my personality, as far as determining my success goes, has been my questioning conventional wisdom, doubting experts, and questioning authority,” he reportedly said in 2016.
Low points
For some partners at least, Oracle’s decision to take more of Sun’s business direct in the wake of its 2010 acquisition of the server giant still sticks in the crore.
Killer quote
“Maybe I’m an idiot, but I have no idea what anyone is talking about. What is it? It’s complete gibberish. It’s insane. When is this idiocy going to stop?” (Ellison talking about cloud computing in 2008, taken from interview with WSJ – see here)
What our panellists said about Ellison
Rupert Mills, Director, Krome Technologies
“Oracle is a vendor that I don’t particularly like working with (despite the fact I used to work there a million years ago). But I have to admire Larry for his ability to stay in charge for so long. Even now he is still there as part of the team, running the place at [nearly] 80.”
How did IT Channel Oxygen compile The Century’s Greatest Vendor Leaders? See here
27 leaders were scored higher by our channel panel. See next page for more…
