Top Oracle Software Executive to Take Extended Leave

Thomas Kurian, a top Oracle Corp. ORCL +0.20% executive leading efforts to expanding its cloud-computing business, said he is taking “extended time off” from the company.

Mr. Kurian, whose title is president of product development, is among the most powerful executives at Oracle and its top technical leader after Chairman and Chief Technology Officer Larry Ellison. He has reported directly to Mr. Ellison, not the company’s co-chiefs, Safra Catz and Mark Hurd.

Mr. Kurian joined Oracle in 1996 and has led software development as the company races to build its cloud-computing operations. In February, Oracle disclosed plans to quadruple its number of giant data-center complexes over the next two years to chip away at the lead of cloud competitors such as Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp.

Mr. Kurian’s departure comes after Oracle has unnerved investors with lower-than-expected results in cloud computing. In June, the company changed the



way it reports results, mixing its cloud revenue with licensing support, which one analyst said could obfuscate weakness in its cloud business.

Mr. Kurian announced his leave Wednesday in an email to Oracle staff. He didn’t respond to an email request for more detail.

An Oracle spokeswoman declined to say why Mr. Kurian is taking leave or who might replace him during his absence. She said the company expects the executive “to return soon.”

While Mr. Kurian suggested he would return to Oracle, his email to staff suggested some finality to the move.

“I am so very proud of all that we have accomplished together and so grateful for having had the opportunity to help you on that journey,” he wrote. “I shall never forget you, and I wish each of you the very best for the future.”

In the fiscal year that ended May 31, Mr. Kurian received $35.76 million in total compensation.