Mark Vincent Hurd (January 1, 1957 – October 18, 2019) was an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
technology executive who served as Co-CEO and as a member of the
board of directors
A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...
of
Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation headquartered in Austin, Texas. In 2020, Oracle was the third-largest software company in the world by revenue and market capitalization. The company sells da ...
. He had previously served as
Chairman
The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...
,
Chief Executive Officer
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
, and
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
of
Hewlett-Packard
The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company headquartered in Palo Alto, California. HP developed and provided a wide variety of hardware components ...
, before resigning in 2010. He was also on the Board of Directors of Globality and was a member of the Technology CEO Council and board of directors of
News Corporation
News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp.), also variously known as News Corporation Limited, was an American multinational mass media corporation controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in Ne ...
until 2010.
Early life and education
Hurd was born in New York City, the son of Teresa A. (Fanoni), a debutante, and Ralph Steiner Hurd, a financier. He graduated from
Archbishop Curley-Notre Dame High School
Archbishop Curley-Notre Dame High School was a private, Roman Catholic high school in the Buena Vista neighborhood of Miami, Florida, United States. It was located in and operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami.
On September 27, 2016, ...
, in
Miami, Florida
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
, in 1975. In 1979, Hurd graduated with a
Bachelor of Business Administration
Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) is a bachelor's degree in business administration awarded by colleges and universities after completion of undergraduate study in the fundamentals of business administration and usually including advanced ...
from
Baylor University
Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the fir ...
, in
Waco, Texas
Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the ...
. He received a tennis scholarship to attend Baylor University and was a member of
Phi Delta Theta
Phi Delta Theta (), commonly known as Phi Delt, is an international secret and social fraternity founded at Miami University in 1848 and headquartered in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, along with Beta Theta Pi and Sigma Chi form the Miami Triad ...
.
Career
NCR (1980–2005)
Hurd spent 25 years at
NCR Corporation
NCR Corporation, previously known as National Cash Register, is an American software, consulting and technology company providing several professional services and electronic products. It manufactures self-service kiosks, point-of-sale termin ...
, culminating in a two-year tenure as chief executive officer and president. He was named president of NCR in 2001 and was given additional responsibilities as
chief operating officer
A chief operating officer or chief operations officer, also called a COO, is one of the highest-ranking executive positions in an organization, composing part of the "C-suite". The COO is usually the second-in-command at the firm, especially if t ...
in 2002. He began working for NCR as a junior salesman in San Antonio in 1980 after Rodney Gray hired him and subsequently held a variety of positions in general management, operations, and sales and marketing. He also served as head of the company's
Teradata
Teradata Corporation is an American software company that provides cloud database and analytics-related software, products, and services. The company was formed in 1979 in Brentwood, California, as a collaboration between researchers at Caltech a ...
data-warehousing division for three years.
Hewlett-Packard (2005–2010)
![Mark Hurd Stock Chart](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Mark_Hurd_Stock_Chart.png)
After the board forced chairman and CEO
Carly Fiorina
Cara Carleton "Carly" Fiorina ('' née'' Sneed; born September 6, 1954) is an American businesswoman and politician, known primarily for her tenure as CEO of Hewlett-Packard (HP). As chief executive officer of HP from 1999 to 2005, Fiorina wa ...
to resign in January 2005 over policy differences following the
Compaq
Compaq Computer Corporation (sometimes abbreviated to CQ prior to a 2007 rebranding) was an American information technology company founded in 1982 that developed, sold, and supported computers and related products and services. Compaq produced ...
merger, executive vice president and CFO
Robert P. Wayman became interim CEO for several months. Hurd was appointed permanent CEO and also held the title of President, a post which was not used by several of his predecessors (
Michael Capellas
Michael David Capellas (born August 19, 1954) is an American executive in the computer and telecommunication industries. Capellas served as chairman and CEO of First Data Corporation, acting CEO of Serena Software, chairman and CEO of Compaq Comp ...
was President of HP for a transitional period in 2002 after its merger with
Compaq
Compaq Computer Corporation (sometimes abbreviated to CQ prior to a 2007 rebranding) was an American information technology company founded in 1982 that developed, sold, and supported computers and related products and services. Compaq produced ...
).
Hurd was also elected to the board of directors but unlike previous CEOs, he was initially not designated to be chairman of the board which was instead filled by a non-executive director. On September 22, 2006, Hurd succeeded
Pat Dunn as board chairman after she resigned due to the
pretexting controversy.
Under his leadership, the company became the leader of the sale of
laptop
A laptop, laptop computer, or notebook computer is a small, portable personal computer (PC) with a screen and alphanumeric keyboard. Laptops typically have a clam shell form factor with the screen mounted on the inside of the upper li ...
computers in 2006, and the leader in the sale of
desktop computer
A desktop computer (often abbreviated desktop) is a personal computer designed for regular use at a single location on or near a desk due to its size and power requirements. The most common configuration has a case that houses the power supply ...
s in 2007. In 2008, it increased its market share in
inkjet printer
Inkjet printing is a type of computer printing that recreates a digital image by propelling droplets of ink onto paper and plastic substrates. Inkjet printers were the most commonly used type of printer in 2008, and range from small inexpensi ...
s and
laser printer
Laser printing is an electrostatic digital printing process. It produces high-quality text and graphics (and moderate-quality photographs) by repeatedly passing a laser beam back and forth over a negatively-charged cylinder called a "drum" to d ...
s to 46% and 50.5%, respectively.
In March 2009, Hurd forecast that HP's sales could drop as much as 5% that year, in the midst of the recession, but that its profit would increase by nearly 6%.
Under Hurd's tenure, the company met Wall Street expectations in 21 out of 22 quarters and increased profits for 22 straight quarters, while its revenue rose 63% and stock price doubled.
While the merger of Hewlett-Packard and Compaq was heavily criticized back in 2002, Hurd managed to make the combined company execute successfully, something his predecessor Fiorina had failed to do. ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' said Hurd had "pulled off one of the great rescue missions in American corporate history, refocusing the strife-ridden company and leading it to five years of revenue gains and a stock that soared 130 percent".
Hurd was said to have run HP "with a founder's authority. He was the de facto CEO, CFO, COO and head salesman".
Hurd had a reputation for aggressive cost-cutting. He laid off 15,200 workers — 10% of the workforce — shortly after becoming CEO. Other cost-cutting included reducing the IT department from 19,000 to 8,000, reducing the number of software applications that HP used from 6,000 to 1,500, and consolidating HP's 85 data centers to 6.
During the 2009 recession, depending on job role Hurd imposed a temporary 5%, 10% or 15% pay cut on all employees and removed many benefits. He himself took a base salary pay cut of 20%, although the compensation committee increased his bonus by the same amount. Hurd's emphasis on short-term results and financial management, particularly cutting costs, taking the lead in the PC business, plus acquisitions (EDS and 3Com), were successful in raising profits and shareholder return. Detractors, however, viewed it as a continuation of
empire building
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
, which started with the acquisition of
Compaq
Compaq Computer Corporation (sometimes abbreviated to CQ prior to a 2007 rebranding) was an American information technology company founded in 1982 that developed, sold, and supported computers and related products and services. Compaq produced ...
in 2002 several years before Hurd joined HP.
In 2007. while serving as chairman and CEO at Hewlett-Packard, Hurd was named one of
Fortune Magazine's 25 most powerful people in business. In 2008,
The San Francisco Chronicle
The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The pa ...
named Hurd as CEO of the year.
In 2009, Hurd was listed as one of Forbes' top gun CEOs.
In 2008, Hurd's total compensation was $39,952,237, including a base salary of $1,450,000, stock award of $7,907,660, cash bonus of $23,931,882, and $662,695 in perquisites and other compensation. It was the largest bonus of any CEO in 2008. In 2009, Hurd made a total of $24,201,448, including a base salary of $1,268,750, stock award of $6,648,092, cash bonus of $15,809,414 and $475,192 in benefits and other compensation.
On August 6, 2010, Hurd resigned from all of his positions at HP, with the Board of Directors appointing CFO Cathie Lesjak as interim CEO. Hurd's decision was made after an investigation into whether Hurd violated HP's code of business conduct following claims made by former contractor,
Jodie Fisher
Jodie Lin Fisher (born July 17, 1969) is an American actress whose acting credits include ''NCIS: Los Angeles'', and ''Little Big League'' as well as the reality TV series '' Age of Love''.
Early life
Jodie Fisher grew up in Dallas, Texas, and ...
. The investigation concluded that the company's sexual-harassment policy was not violated, but in the course of investigating the allegations, they found that Hurd had submitted inaccurate expense reports. Outside observers suggested the company's board of directors had made a poor decision and may have had mixed motives in requiring his resignation in order to mitigate negative publicity. Fisher herself expressed regrets at the outcome.
Oracle Corporation (2010–2019)
![Mark Hurd talks to Maria Bartiromo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Mark_Hurd_talks_to_Maria_Bartiromo.jpg)
On September 6, 2010, Hurd was named president of Oracle Corporation alongside
Safra A. Catz, succeeding former president
Charles Phillips. Hurd was also appointed a member of the Oracle Corporation board of directors. Hurd and Catz were appointed by then-CEO
Larry Ellison
Lawrence Joseph Ellison (born August 17, 1944) is an American business magnate and investor who is the co-founder, executive chairman, chief technology officer (CTO) and former chief executive officer (CEO) of the American computer technology ...
. HP then sued Hurd, claiming he would violate agreements to protect HP's secrets by assuming that high-level role at Oracle; the lawsuit was settled two weeks later, with Hurd giving up about half the compensation owed him by HP.
Hurd revamped the company's salesforce in 2013, a process that had initially started two years prior. Hurd changed the compensation for Oracle's sales representatives in order to sell more hardware, hired additional sales representatives, and reduced the number of accounts covered by each salesperson. In April 2013, he reported that the sales force had increased by 4,000.
His plans to revamp initially faced flak from veteran sales representatives, some of whom left Oracle to work for competitors.
In 2013, Hurd launched the “Class Of” program to hire thousands of college graduates and groom those graduates to become sales representatives, helping to sell Oracle's cloud. His idea was inspired by a dinner he had with his daughter and her friends who recently graduated from college. As a result of the program's success and plans for expansion, the company built a new campus in Austin, Texas, to house employees that were part of Hurd's "Class Of" program. Hurd reported in 2015 that Oracle recruits 1,300 students each year.
On September 18, 2014, Ellison announced he was stepping down as CEO of Oracle, with Hurd and Catz becoming co-CEOs.
Hurd was given control of sales, service and marketing departments, while Catz was to oversee operations, legal and finance departments.
Under Hurd, Oracle accelerated its focus on cloud technology and modernized its legacy software to compete with smaller cloud-based firms. In 2016, Hurd said that Oracle's cloud business had grown 82% between 2015 and 2016 as well as invested $5.1 billion into research and development in improving its cloud services.
Oracle acquired several cloud-based companies in 2016 under Hurd, including SaaS enterprise resource planning company
NetSuite, Textura cloud services for the engineering and construction vertical, cloud-based warehouse management application company LogFire, and
Opower, a provider of cloud services to the utilities industry.
Personal life
Mark Hurd married Elizabeth A. Butler on August 23, 1980; they divorced on October 14, 1987. Hurd and his second wife, Paula Kalupa, an executive with NCR, married in 1990. They had two daughters, Kathryn and Kelly.
In September 2019, Hurd announced his intention to go on leave for unspecified health reasons. He also said co-CEO Safra Catz and Oracle founder CTO Larry Ellison would be managing the organization while he was away. Hurd died on October 18, 2019, reportedly of cancer.
Bibliography
* ''The Value Factor: How Global Leaders Use Information for Growth and Competitive Advantage'' by Mark Hurd and Lars Nyberg, Bloomberg Press, 2004,
Fall 2003 Baylor Business Review "Enterprise Decision-Making"by Mark Hurd,
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hurd, Mark V.
1957 births
2019 deaths
20th-century American businesspeople
21st-century American businesspeople
American chairpersons of corporations
American chief operating officers
American technology chief executives
Baylor University alumni
Businesspeople from Queens, New York
Hewlett-Packard people
NCR Corporation people
Oracle employees
People from Queens, New York
Teradata
Archbishop Curley-Notre Dame High School alumni