Sure, Hewlett-Packard has filed suit to stop former CEO Mark Hurd from joining Oracle as co-president. But it’s safe to say Oracle CEO Larry Ellison and Oracle’s legal team closely examined HP’s severance agreement with Hurd. Somehow, someway, Ellison believes Hurd can work with Oracle without Hurd violating his severance agreement with HP. Is Ellison right — yet again?
To understand Ellison’s management style and business mindset pick up the book Everyone Else Must Fail: The Unvarnished Truth About Oracle and Larry Ellison. Written by the late Karen Southwick, the 2003 book stands the test of time, tracing Ellison’s penchant for rewriting the rules of business IT.
Ellison Showed His Hand Early
The VAR Guy concedes: When HP fired Hurd, our resident blogger underestimated the potential impact. But Ellison didn’t. Within hours or days of the firing, Ellison wrote an email to the New York Times, stating:
“The H.P. board just made the worst personnel decision since the idiots on the Apple board fired Steve Jobs many years ago. That decision nearly destroyed Apple and would have if Steve hadn’t come back and saved them.”
Plus, the Times noted that:
“Mr. Ellison and Mr. Hurd, meanwhile, have been close personal friends. Both are avid tennis players, and Mr. Hurd often plays at Mr. Ellison’s house in Silicon Valley.”
Now, Hurd and Ellison are looking to play on the same side of the net, serving up one heck of a potential headache for HP. The big question: Is it really legal for Hurd to join Oracle as co-president>?
Legal Wiggle Room?
The Wall Street Journal offers a point-by-point analysis of the HP lawsuit against Hurd. The VAR Guy wonders: As Hurd and Ellison explored Hurd’s potential employment with Oracle, how many hours did Oracle’s lawyers spend looking for competitive loopholes in Hurd’s severance agreement with HP?
Hmmm… Ellison has made some bold moves before: The hostile bid for PeopleSoft. The unexpected bid for Sun Microsystems. But hiring Hurd could be Ellison’s boldest move yet.
Adding to the drama: The Oracle OpenWorld (Sept. 19-23, San Francisco) conference will bring HP Executive VP Ann Livermore onto Oracle’s stage as a guest keynote speaker. The VAR Guy wonders: Will Hurd be there to welcome her?
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VAR Guy, I’m betting that ORCL wins this battle. Ellison loves a good fight.
I remember driving around silicon valley for years hearing on the radio, marveling (and chuckling) about the latest update on Larry’s running battle with the City of San Jose, for flying his jet into San Jose in the middle of the night, in violation of their noise ordinances. Ellison fought them tooth and nail for 4-5 years, and in the end… he won! That was just for target practice… this one will be a real fight.
Not to mention his legal battle with the ex-Admin, ex-girlfriend who nailed him for $300k on sex harrassment. When Larry’s P.I. later found the “smoking gun” that she had manufactured the false evidence (a phony email)… he took her to court and she was sent to prison.
Moral of stories… don’t mess with Larry!!
HP doesn’t really have a case… it’s a right to work state. The irony of this situation… after HP ran a terrific CEO out “on rails”, is impossible to state in words.
imho, Larry Ellison is the wrong target for legal action! instead HP’s board should face an immense lawsuit from their shareholders for their incompetency at every step along with way.
Steve: Thanks for sharing some deeper insights. The VAR Guy remembers Larry Ellison’s battle to land his jet in the middle of the night. That must of been back in ’98 or so, as The VAR Guy recalls.
There’s something to be said about company founders who build empires (Ellison, Gates, Jobs). They hate losing.
-TVG
VAR Guy, you are right – yes, there is something about founders who build empires! But for me Larry Ellison has always been, far and away your best “local color” entertainment investment available today, in the world of high tech. Oh sure, Steve Jobs can rise to the occasion once in a while, and there are a few other runners-up. But Ellison delivers the “grand slam” on a regular basis – year in, year out. And now this – the topper of them all!
If you haven’t read the book “Softwar” it is a great read about him.
VAR Guy, my business partner and I also want to share with you our appreciation of your awesome, well-reported, wry insights into the comings and goings around the world of tech. Keep up the great work!!
Steve: No need to pile on the praise. The VAR Guy has a big enough ego as it is. Still, our resident blogger looks forward to talking soon. Sorry he hasn’t been in touch; an email and hard drive meltdown means The VAR Guy is still playing catch-up on a bunch of communications.
-TVG
Update: BusinessWeek reports that it will be difficult for HP to block Mark Hurd from working at Oracle. Here’s why. -TVG
Steve & TVG – Plane must be 75,000 lbs. or less. He is the ONLY ONE who can free from the night curfew. sfgate
Miss Cleo says: Larry will prevail and HP will FAIL.
TVG, I think the concern about whether Mark & Larry will “get along” is probably null.
Remember, Ray Lane had a 8-year run of huge success working with Larry, doing the operations stuff and building the company, before he left.
Like Ray Lane, Hurd by all accounts doesn’t need, or seek the spotlight – it looks like a perfect “Ray Lane v2.0″ kind of complementary relationship imho.
Agree, MC – ORCL is the big winner here!
Steve, Melissa: The VAR Guy values your comments. Oracle certainly has a leg up against HP on software. But can Oracle-Sun really beat Oracle’s hardware story long-term? Thoughts?
-TVG
HP made a big mistake. They should have withheld his severance pay until he completed the 2-year non-compete. Everyone in business knows non-competes aren’t enforced in CA. Just look, Hurd was hired they day after he received $12.2M. I do feel for HP. They got taken.
Bill: Thanks for your readership. But The VAR Guy needs to point out: Hurd technically did not sign a non-compete…
-TVG