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Mark Hurd Has Died

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Re: Mark Hurd Has Died

#51
post #39

Obviously this is very sad news and I wish all the best & my condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues. I'm not very familiar with how Oracle is run, but it surprised me to see "co-CEO". I always assumed this wasn't a great way to run a company, and yet here is a major exception. Can someone enlighten me as to why Oracle chooses to have co-CEOs? Is it something specific to their business?

It's not extremely common, but it does happen occasionally. It is a very thoroughly discussed topic though. https://www.businessinsider.com/why-major-companies-have-2-c...

[deleted]

Re: Mark Hurd Has Died

#52

Obviously this is very sad news and I wish all the best & my condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues. I'm not very familiar with how Oracle is run, but it surprised me to see "co-CEO". I always assumed this wasn't a great way to run a company, and yet here is a major exception. Can someone enlighten me as to why Oracle chooses to have co-CEOs? Is it something specific to their business?

Hurd dealt with the sales force while Catz focused on the financial side of it. Larry runs engineering.

Re: Mark Hurd Has Died

#53

I feel really bad for Hurd and his family. Why work that hard? The 24/7 CEO lifestyle seems like such a waste of time if you end up working it to the day you die. Like, why work that hard? For the family you never see? The vacation home you can visit for 5 days a year? The yacht you leave parked 360 days a year? The job is so demanding and so hard it seems like Mark worked himself to death, literally. He probably cou…

Maybe he worked that hard, because he enjoyed working above all else? Maybe he died doing exactly what he loved?

Few old people looking back with perspective say that they worked to little...

Re: Mark Hurd Has Died

#54
post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

His relationship with Fisher was not inconsequential: https://www.businessinsider.com/mark-hurd-jodie-fisher-hp-20...

Agreed, but her modeling for Playboy had no part in making the relationship consequential. It is a gratuitous detail.

Why not? If modelling was her thing, a Playboy appearance is a major accomplishment.

Re: Mark Hurd Has Died

#55

Obviously this is very sad news and I wish all the best & my condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues. I'm not very familiar with how Oracle is run, but it surprised me to see "co-CEO". I always assumed this wasn't a great way to run a company, and yet here is a major exception. Can someone enlighten me as to why Oracle chooses to have co-CEOs? Is it something specific to their business?

They weren't co-CEOs apparently[1]. They just had different areas of authority within the company.

1. https://www.cnbc.com/2014/09/18/oracle-ceo-larry-ellison-ste...

Re: Mark Hurd Has Died

#56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Without knowing the cause of death, I think it's premature to say that he worked himself to death. It was probably some kind of cancer that probably would have happened anyway. The bigger question I think is, if he could do it over again, would he have tried to spend more of his short time on earth with his family and relaxing/enjoying life rather than working? And even that is not so clear cut-- it may well be that…

Maybe. But I blame the work for the death because he only took sick leave a few months back, then suddenly died. That to me says he worked right up until he couldn't anymore. A normal person would be retiring at 65 or so. And while the job may have seemed important, in the grand scheme of things, I don't think it's all that important when compared to family and personal enjoyment. It's not like he worked for a compan…

> But I blame the work for the death because he only took sick leave a few months back, then suddenly died. That to me says he worked right up until he couldn't anymore.

There are plenty of diseases where you die within a few months of diagnoses. For all we know he got his diagnosis and immediately took his leave.

While I agree with your overall sentiment that it's not worth it, you are making so many assumptions as you know nothing about his personal life. Not everyone has a good family life, and it's a dangerous assumption to blame work for it - the causality can often be the other way round (crappy family relations, spouse unwilling to change, etc so find fulfillment in things outside of home).

We just don't know. And it's none of our business.

Re: Mark Hurd Has Died

#57
post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

His relationship with Fisher was not inconsequential: https://www.businessinsider.com/mark-hurd-jodie-fisher-hp-20...

Agreed, but her modeling for Playboy had no part in making the relationship consequential. It is a gratuitous detail.

It has been alleged that Hurd hired her in large part for prurient purposes.

She posed for Playboy; Hurd was involved in her hiring for "events" and then immediately commences an irregular relationship with her, including her being paid for work at places where there is no HP event but Hurd happens to be.

It makes it look a lot more deliberate, than if, say, she had a career as an event presenter and then some time after hiring a sexual relationship commenced.

Re: Mark Hurd Has Died

#58
post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe he worked that hard, because he enjoyed working above all else? Maybe he died doing exactly what he loved?

Few old people looking back with perspective say that they worked to little...

I think people do look back and wish that they lived their lives to their full potential and took more risks.

Re: Mark Hurd Has Died

#60
post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe he worked that hard, because he enjoyed working above all else? Maybe he died doing exactly what he loved?

Few old people looking back with perspective say that they worked to little...

Problem is, nobody asks life advice from people whose failing was that they worked too little.
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