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Oracle appoints Clay Magouyrk and Mike Sicilia as co-CEOs, Safra Catz steps aside

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Oracle announced a surprise leadership shakeup on Monday, naming insiders Clay Magouyrk and Mike Sicilia as co-CEOs, replacing longtime chief executive Safra Catz. Catz, who helped transform Oracle into a cloud powerhouse over her 11-year tenure, will remain with the company as vice chair of the board.

Catz’s legacy includes steering Oracle from its roots as a database provider into a global competitor in cloud computing, securing massive AI-related contracts, and driving the company’s market capitalization close to $1 trillion. Shares of Oracle have soared about 85% this year, outpacing rivals Microsoft and Alphabet, buoyed by the AI boom.

  • Mike Sicilia (54) currently oversees Oracle’s cloud-based applications and AI products.

  • Clay Magouyrk (39) manages Oracle’s cloud infrastructure platform, which underpins the company’s AI and data services.

Both executives are well-known to investors, and analysts say their promotion highlights cloud and industry solutions as Oracle’s main growth engines. Evercore ISI noted that with co-founder Larry Ellison staying on as CTO and Catz as executive vice chair, the leadership transition should be smooth.

Oracle is currently central to U.S. data security discussions, hosting TikTok’s U.S. user data on its cloud systems. The company also recently signed one of the largest cloud deals in history with OpenAI, worth an estimated $300 billion in computing power over five years.

Safra Catz, one of the most influential women in tech, first became co-CEO alongside the late Mark Hurd in 2014 after Ellison stepped back from daily operations. Under her leadership, Oracle shares climbed more than 586%. Trained in finance and law, Catz joined Oracle in 1999 after a career on Wall Street and today holds a net worth of $3.3 billion, according to Forbes.

Magouyrk, who joined Oracle from Amazon Web Services in 2014, will receive stock options worth $250 million, while Sicilia, who came via Oracle’s acquisition of Primavera Systems, will receive $100 million in stock options.

The co-CEO model, while less common, is being adopted by several global firms, including investment giant KKR and, briefly, Intel. For Oracle, the dual leadership underscores the scale of its ambitions as cloud and AI reshape the tech landscape.

T-Mobile appoints Srini Gopalan as new CEO to navigate competitive U.S. telecom market

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T-Mobile announced that insider Srinivasan “Srini” Gopalan will become CEO on November 1, succeeding Mike Sievert, as the company sharpens its strategy to maintain 5G leadership in a crowded U.S. wireless market.

The transition comes amid slowing subscriber growth, heightened competition, and more price-sensitive consumers. T-Mobile has leaned on aggressive promotions, bundled perks, and streaming partnerships to gain share, rising to become the nation’s second-largest wireless carrier behind Verizon during Sievert’s tenure.

Sievert, who took over in 2020 after T-Mobile’s $26 billion merger with Sprint, will move to the newly created role of vice chairman, advising on long-term strategy, innovation, and talent development. His leadership saw T-Mobile outperform both AT&T and Verizon in stock performance.

Gopalan, currently T-Mobile’s COO, brings deep telecom and financial expertise, with past leadership roles at Vodafone, Capital One, Bharti Airtel, and most recently as CEO of Deutsche Telekom Germany, where he doubled growth and expanded the fiber business. Analysts, including MoffettNathanson’s Craig Moffett, said the handover is expected to be smooth, with little disruption to performance.

When asked about future M&A activity, Gopalan stressed that T-Mobile’s focus will be on spectrum investment and fiber expansion rather than new consolidation moves.

This change marks a pivotal moment as T-Mobile works to protect its 5G advantage and balance growth in both postpaid and prepaid markets amid shifting consumer dynamics.

AustralianSuper Sells Stake in WiseTech Global Over Leadership Transition Concerns

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AustralianSuper, Australia’s largest pension fund, has exited its position in logistics software giant WiseTech Global (WTC.AX), citing dissatisfaction with the company’s handling of founder Richard White’s leadership transition. The pension fund sold approximately A$580 million ($366.2 million) worth of shares, closing its 1.9% stake in the company over the past few weeks.

Leadership Transition Raises Concerns

The decision comes after White, the company’s largest shareholder, stepped down as CEO in October 2024 following media reports of allegations related to his personal life, including payments to a past sexual partner. In his absence, Andrew Cartledge, the firm’s finance chief, was named interim CEO.

In February, White made a surprise return to the company’s leadership, assuming the role of executive chair. However, the transition was further complicated in March when White admitted to incomplete disclosure regarding his personal relationships to the board. A review revealed that his statements had been inaccurate, incomplete, and misleading.

AustralianSuper’s Statement

AustralianSuper expressed dissatisfaction with how WiseTech handled the transition, particularly the lack of a clear and sensible plan that balanced governance with managing the founder’s role over time. The pension fund emphasized that it required more assurance regarding the transition’s governance, which led to its decision to sell the stake. While the fund has exited for now, it stated that it may reconsider its position should circumstances improve.

WiseTech Global’s Response

WiseTech Global did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding AustralianSuper’s decision.