Thomas Kurian is new Oracle president

Oracle Corporation has elevated Thomas Kurian, executive vice-president, product development, to the role of president.

The appointment of Kurian, 48, comes in the wake of Larry Ellison moving over from the role of chief executive officer (CEO) of the $38-billion software, solutions and hardware company to that of executive chairman, having handed the reins of the company to Safra Catz and Mark Hurd. The Indian spokesperson of Oracle confirmed the elevation but declined to comment further.

Kurian is responsible for leading all aspects of product strategy, software development, and delivery of Oracle’s software product portfolio, including Oracle Database, Oracle Fusion Middleware, and enterprise resource planning, customer relationship management, and supply chain management applications.

At Oracle, Kurian has been reporting to executive chairman of the board and chief technology officer Larry Ellison. According to the company’s website, Kurian has been responsible for Oracle Fusion Middleware family of products, which became the fastest-growing business within Oracle under his leadership. According to a Bloomberg report, since Kurian assumed the role executive vice-president in 2009, the software division’s annual sales have grown from $18.9 billion to $29.2 billion and the unit has maintained revenue growth, even as Oracle’s hardware and services divisions have struggled.

With his latest elevation, Kurian joins the club of Indians heading crucial positions at multi-national firms, such as Sundar Pichai of Google heading its products division and Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft.