
Mark Hurd Has Died - big_chungus
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/18/mark-hurd-co-ceo-of-oracle-dies-at-62.html
======
VonGuard
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 could have retired happy and rich at like 40
years old...

I understand when an artist or someone creative gives their life to their
work: it's an obsession that is personal. But giving your life to Oracle just
for the money seems like a life wasted at that level. Even the day to day
workers over there get to go home and see their families every night. At the
C-level, you basically live in a private jet and never see your family... Very
sad.

~~~
eigenvalue
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 what gave him the most satisfaction in
life was the feeling of accomplishment from doing an important job well.

~~~
johnpowell
Last year I was diagnosed with neck/mouth cancer. I did three months of
radiation and chemo and it cleared it up. Then two months later I went in for
a PET scan and the cancer had spread to my liver. So more ration for that.
Then six months later another PET scan and the cancer popped up in a new place
on my liver. I'm currently on Pembrolizumab and my oncologist wants to give
that a few months and see how the lesion is reacting.

I will find out in a few weeks. I don't have a good feeling about this. I have
accepted that my time might be up. I'm probably looking at another round of
more aggressive chemo. I am doing my best to just not think about this.

I have always enjoyed woodworking but never really spent the money on getting
a proper woodshop together. But when I was on the tail end of the first round
of chemo I got a lot of credit cards and bought tools. Because, fuck it.

So through all this I spend a lot of time down in the woodshop to keep myself
busy. I feel like garbage but it keeps my mind occupied. Even if I had Hurd
money I wouldn't want to be sitting on beach. Free time to think is my enemy.
Free time results in serious bouts of depression. Basketball, and woodworking
is how I am spending most of my time. Something, something, idle hands.

~~~
mayukh
Thank you for sharing your perspective. Wishing you the best. You can consider
having added some valuable food for thought in one person's thinking about
this disease and how we choose to spend our limited time on this planet.

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jkcorrea
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?

~~~
blueberry_47
Look, it doesn't take a genius to know that any organization thrives when it
has two leaders. Go ahead, name a country that doesn't have two presidents. A
boat that sets sail without two captains. Where would Catholicism be without
the popes?

~~~
elsewhen
With this mentality, we wouldn’t have had women in positions of power or even
women voters. Same for people of color etc. I Personally _love_ that some
companies, people and countries are bold enough to experiment with unorthodox
approaches, because sometimes those ideas work and the rest of us benefit from
the learnings.

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DallasTX
Mark Hurd is an amazing person both professionally and personally. He did and
does for so many. This is a tragic loss for his family and friends. Mark is a
husband, father, brother, and best friend to many. He has selflessly donated
millions to great causes. A man’s life has come to an end far too early Than
it should. When making comments, think of those who are hurting, in shock and
grieving. RIP #markhurd

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aresant
Hurd had taken a medical leave of absence earlier this year and it's likely
that Oracle was prepared for this (1)

Safra Catz, the other co-CEO, will run Oracle in the meantime. Ellison intends
to appoint a new co-CEO in the near future(2)

(1) [https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/09/12/oracle-co-ceo-mark-
hu...](https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/09/12/oracle-co-ceo-mark-hurd-takes-
medical-leave-of-absence/)

(2) [https://techcrunch.com/2019/10/18/former-oracle-co-ceo-
mark-...](https://techcrunch.com/2019/10/18/former-oracle-co-ceo-mark-hurd-
has-passed-away/)

~~~
deepVoid
It seems that Oracle was prepared to have two co-CEOs at the same time. When
an emergency like this happens, the other co-CEO can take over any any time.

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todipa
That's really sad. I've always imagined myself dying in my 80s or 90s after
seeing grandchildren become adults. At the age of 62, that cuts all of that
out...

~~~
rootusrootus
I'd like to live a long time, but my dad is in the process of dying right now
(he's 86) and it SUCKS. One of my older brothers, on the other hand, dropped
dead at 59 from a "widowmaker" heart attack. I think I'd like something like
the latter, but a little closer to the former age. What I can say for sure is
that in my limited experience, dying of old age is a tedious, undignified,
painful affair.

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megiddo
Bummer. I was at HP when he was CEO (and subsequently forced out). He was an
inspiring, long-term thinker.

~~~
ScottBurson
Was he? I arrived at HP shortly before he left, via an acquisition. I suppose
he okayed the purchase, which suggests some amount of forward-looking thought,
but I also heard that he had defunded HP Labs to some extent, and that he was
more into cost control than investing in new technology.

~~~
cogman10
That's what I heard. I interned there shortly after he'd left for oracle.

He wasn't well liked in my department (Superdome!). IT and Ops had been
completely outsourced which wasn't particularly appreciated.

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wyxuan
From his website:
[https://markhurd.com/announcement/](https://markhurd.com/announcement/)

~~~
_ph_
Here is the correct link:
[https://markhurd.com/announcement/](https://markhurd.com/announcement/)

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CrankyBear
I knew he'd taken time up for a health problem, but I sure hadn't seen this
coming.

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Merrill
[https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-11/oracle-
gr...](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-11/oracle-grappled-for-
months-over-disclosure-of-ceo-hurd-s-illness)

>Hurd, one of the company’s two CEOs, is struggling with an illness that has
occasionally taken him in and out of the public eye for more than a year,
according to several people with knowledge of the matter. Management’s
rationale for staying silent until now centered at least in part on the depth
of Oracle’s leadership bench, said the people, who requested anonymity
discussing an issue the company considers private.Hurd, 62, shares the CEO
title with Safra Catz, 57, a well-regarded 20-year company veteran, who
previously served as finance chief and still oversees Oracle’s accounting,
operations, legal and corporate development.

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Karinchen
When a man dedicates his life to this type of job, both he and his family
know,that it is a way of life. Don't think that at this point Mark was,so much
after the money, a's he was brilliant, what good does it do if you live to be
99 and you have survived cancer, lost your mind, bc of Alzheimer, swallow a
lot of pills to keep yourself going, have a dull, monotonous,existence, is
that so much fun and attainable. For Whom The Bell Tolls, noone can look
around corners, what I know of Mark, he did what he did with passion,
intensity and conviction. Although I was really sad to hear about it, he seems
to have lived a fulfilled life.

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Karinchen
Mark was not liked by all at Teradata nor NCR either, at times I complained,
but really looking at the big picture, there was nothing else that would have
worked. When iconoclast make unpopular decisions the masses don't like it. The
vision and dedication, plus simplification of complex ideas, this is so
attractive, there are not that many of those around globally with the chuzpah
and pioneer spirit that is what needs to be celebrated and admired. Every man
has fault and makes mistakes, who is free of that, if anyone is please I want
to hear from you in a New York minute. RIP Mark

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revgrant7
I'm baffled by the focus of comments here, people sitting back and making
judgements about another's life decisions. Refreshing that there isn't name
calling and vitriol. I personally would not want to live the kind of high
pressure work life of Mr. Hurd. For me that would be hell. Each person is
responsible for their decisions, finding satisfaction in life. By my own best
lights the key questions are, "Did s/he love? Were they loved in return? Did
they add to greater good of the world around them?" Wielding power over others
for personal gain, exploitation, that's where I'm more comfortable saying that
a person's choices were harmful to self and others. Narcissism. I'm getting a
big cipher here and other articles about his passing. I'm his age, so that
adds another dimension to my regard here.

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davidwanderer
Life is full of choices, and Mark made his choice so who am I to criticize. I
closed my laptop and drove out of SV at 42, leaving behind a CFO job at a
large enterprise software company with lots of career upside. My choice was
predicated on the recognition that the price one pays for this type of career
success was not worth it, to me. But my values are not your values, so the
important thing is to make a thoughtful, informed decision about how one wants
to spend their short time here.

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Flatennisplayer
I knew Mark personally. We played tennis together in High School. My mother
made dinner for him many times. All I can say is, "You can't judge a book by
it's cover"

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nominalguy
Worked for the company for a Long stint. Mark’s leadership style is hmm
controversial at best and many may not agree. But to die so young while at the
peak is always a sad thing to anyone

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codemac
62 is quite young :(

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RcouF1uZ4gsC
> Hurd settled with Fisher, who had once modeled for Playboy magazine, for
> undisclosed terms.

The modeling for Playboy seems like a very gratuitous detail to include and
doesn't seem to serve any purpose for the story.

~~~
luma
His relationship with Fisher was not inconsequential:
[https://www.businessinsider.com/mark-hurd-jodie-fisher-
hp-20...](https://www.businessinsider.com/mark-hurd-jodie-fisher-hp-2011-12)

~~~
RcouF1uZ4gsC
Agreed, but her modeling for Playboy had no part in making the relationship
consequential. It is a gratuitous detail.

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

~~~
bitL
Getting into Playboy these days means that the model is able to find a sponsor
that pays her appearance in the magazine. It is an achievement, but of a
completely different kind than most people would have thought. Source: I am a
photographer, know some of their models and they told me.

~~~
1123581321
Can you explain further? Is the sponsor someone personally interested in the
model’s career or is it a company that she is endorsing? What is the typical
fee for this?

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sargram01
The article says he was a brilliant leader, anyone know what he did to be a
brilliant leader specifically?

~~~
wyxuan
Hurd ran sales at oracle, and many people can attest to the brilliant skill of
oracle at sales, even if the underlying product wasn't as good as their
competitors.

~~~
shakkhar
Hurd was already a pretty high-profile CEO before joining Oracle. Oracle was
already pretty well-entrenched long before Hurd joined the company. Hurd's
primary skill, IMHO, was in managing the public market.

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tempsy
I see his life as a warning more than anything else. A person spending his
entire adult life working non-stop, climbing the corporate ladder, and then to
die so young...

~~~
rchaud
It wasn't all work. Look into why he was ushered out as HP CEO.

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ycombonator
Philosophically speaking, poof in an instant all those things that he
accomplished didn’t matter when he died. He is at the same place as any random
joe who died at his hospital.

~~~
minikites
Alexander the Great found the philosopher looking attentively at a pile of
human bones. Diogenes explained, "I am searching for the bones of your father
but cannot distinguish them from those of a slave."

~~~
mlyle
Don't be so cynical.

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johnyy
Guys it’s not about the CEO who spent whole time in the private jet. It’s
about 1000s if families who depended on this company to bring the food on the
table Profitability is the key He sacrificed for those employees his personal
time.

~~~
quaquaqua1
lol mark hurd took away all of our bonuses and commissions at oracle

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nominalguy
I had worked for the company for an extensive period and many in the company
would not fall in love with the man due to his ehmmmm leadership style. But to
die so young and at the peak is very sad to happen to anyone. God bless his
soul

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newshirt
Tuesday - Amazon announces it is completely off of Oracle databases

Thursday - Amazon announces support for RDS on VmWare

Friday - Oracle announces its Co-CEO has died

