Oracle chief Larry Ellison said in statement there was no ill-feeling and that You departed on good terms. We wish Harry good fortuneand look forward to partnering with BearingPoint for years to come, he said.
You joined Oracle last July from another consulting firm Accenture where he was also CFO. The resignation of key financial personnel always makes investors edgy, and this was no exception. Oracle shares gave up nearly 30 cents after the announcement last Thursday.
BearingPoint shares also fell nearly 1.5% on an announcement made the same day that it is likely to restate some of its previously reported financial results. On Friday however the stock jumped back 11% after speculation among analysts that You has been hired to set BearingPoint up for a sale. BearingPoint officials deny this.
Oracle has named co-president Safra Catz as a stand-in until a permanent replacement is found. Catz is well respected in Oracle’s upper corridors, and played a key role in the PeopleSoft takeover effort, but she’ll be less popular with the 5,000 or so workers who are expected to be laid off by the end of this year. Catz helped to develop the restructuring plan.
Oracle will need to fill the void left by You quickly. The Redwood Shores, California-based company is in the process of absorbing rival PeopleSoft Inc, which it recently bought for $10.3bn. It is also in a bidding war with SAP AG for control of retail applications supplier Retek Inc.
Oracle’s financials will be under close scrutiny by Wall Street analysts. The company has said it expects the PeopleSoft acquisition to boost its profits by about $400m in the fiscal year ending May 2006.
