Oracle CFO Disappears, Resigns
Oracles chief financial officer and co-president Greg Maffei will leave the company to pursue a "terrific professional opportunity," the company confirmed late Thursday. Maffei's abrupt resignation confirms weeks of speculation that he was leaving Oracle after only a four-month tenure.
Maffei was hired by Oracle in late June, and his selection was announced with much fanfare. He had previously worked at Microsoft in the late 1990s as chief financial officer.
Wherever Maffei may be going, neither he nor Oracle would disclose any details. However, company representatives did say Maffei's new job was outside of the software industry, meaning it would not be a competitive position.
Analysts are suggesting that the second quick departure of an executive means there may be some kind of leadership issue within Oracle. The previous CFO, Harry You, left the company in March after only eight months in the position.
Before Thursday's announcement, Maffei disappeared for nearly two weeks, and his no-show at an Oracle investor conference Wednesday raised eyebrows.
"Last night, Oracle co-President Charles Phillips at an investor conference made no reference to Mr. Maffei when talking about how the company is managed, referring to himself, Safra Catz and Larry Ellison," Goldman Sachs analyst Richard Sherlund wrote in a note to clients.
Some suggest that the problem could be traced back to Safra Catz, a member of the Oracle board and head of the company's global operations. One financial analyst said there was a near constant clash between the two men, and the same issue existed with You.
One possible reason for tension could be that Catz was eyeing Maffei's job; the board upon announcing Maffei's resignation also said that Catz would promoted and the company would not seek to fill the position with anyone else.
Also, Oracle's corporate culture is far different than Microsoft. While the Redmond company is more relaxed, Oracle is "like a battle every day," according to Piper Jaffray's David Rudow.