Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison published a statement honoring the memory of Oracle CEO Mark Hurd, whose death was announced Friday morning. Hurd was 62.
The public statement was the same as the email he had sent to the troops Friday morning.
Ellison, who co-founded Oracle in 1977 and hired Hurd as co-president in 2010, wrote that Hurd was "a brilliant and beloved leader who personally touched the lives of so many of us during his decade at Oracle."
"All of us will miss Mark's keen mind and rare ability to analyze, simplify and solve problems quickly. Some of us will miss his friendship and mentorship. I will miss his kindness and sense of humor," Ellison wrote.
Ellison, who stepped down as CEO of Oracle in 2014, appointed Hurd and Safra Catz as Oracle's CEOs in September 2014. Ellison is currently executive chairman and CTO of Oracle.
Hurd had stepped away from his role as CEO last month due to health concerns that weren't specified. He died early Friday morning.
"Mark was my close and irreplaceable friend, and trusted colleague," Ellison wrote. "Many of us are inconsolable right now, but we are left with memories and a sense of gratitude…that we had the opportunity to get know Mark, the opportunity to work with him…and become his friend."
Oracle insiders say that the company held an all hands meeting on Friday morning but shared very little information about Hurd's illness, or the company's direction, that wasn't already known. Oracle did not announce any new organizational changes, for instance, since Hurd had already stepped away.
The company did not disclose, for instance, the nature of Hurd's illness. Employees had noticed that he began looking increasingly ill over for many months. He also began uncharacteristically canceling travel and speaking engagements in 2019.
Read Ellison's full statement here.
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