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Safra Catz

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Safra Catz
Born
Safra Ada Catz

December 1961 (age 62)
Holon, Israel
CitizenshipUnited States
EducationUniversity of Pennsylvania (BA, JD)
OccupationCEO of Oracle
Spouse
Gal Tirosh
​
(m. 1997)​
Children2

Safra Ada Catz (Hebrew: צפרא עדה כץ; born December 1961) is an Israeli-American billionaire banker and technology executive. She is the CEO of Oracle Corporation. She has been an executive at Oracle since April 1999, and a board member since 2001. In April 2011, she was named co-president and chief financial officer (CFO), reporting to founder Larry Ellison.[1] In September 2014, Oracle announced that Ellison would step down as CEO and that Mark Hurd and Catz had been named as joint CEOs.[2] In September 2019, Catz became the sole CEO after Hurd resigned due to health issues.[3]

Early life

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Catz was born in December 1961 in Holon, Israel,[4][5] to Jewish parents.[6][7] [8] She moved from Israel to Brookline, Massachusetts at the age of six.

Catz graduated from Brookline High School.[9] She earned a bachelor's degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1983 and a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1986.[5][10]

Career

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Catz was a banker at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette,[11] serving as a managing director from February 1997 to March 1999 and a senior vice president from January 1994 to February 1997 and previously held various investment banking positions since 1986. In 1999, Catz joined Oracle as senior vice president. She has been a non-executive director of Oracle subsidiary Hyperion Solutions since April 2007.[12] She has been a member of the executive council of TechNet since March 2013. She was a director of PeopleSoft Inc since December 2004 and Stellent Inc. since December 2006.[13][14]

Catz joined Oracle Corporation in April 1999.[1] Catz became a member of the company's board of directors in October 2001 and president in early 2004.[1][15] She is credited for having driven Oracle's 2005 efforts to acquire software rival PeopleSoft in a $10.3 billion takeover.[11] Catz is also the company's CFO, serving temporarily in that role from November 2005 to September 2008, and from April 2011 to the present.[1] Mark Hurd joined her as co-president in 2010.[1] In December 2019, Oracle stated that Catz would be the sole CEO after Hurd's death.[16]

In 2009 she was ranked by Fortune as the 12th most powerful woman in business.[17] In 2009 she was ranked by Forbes as the 16th most powerful businesswoman.[18] She was ranked 24th[19] in 2014 and 17th in 2023.[20] According to an Equilar analysis published by Fortune, she was in 2011 the highest-paid woman among Fortune 1000 companies, receiving an estimated US$51,695,742 in total remuneration.[21]

Catz is a lecturer in accounting at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.[22] Catz was a director of HSBC from 2008 to 2015.[23]

After the election of Donald Trump, Catz was one of several high-profile CEOs, including Tim Cook, Sheryl Sandberg and Jeff Bezos, invited to talk with the then president-elect about potentially taking up a position in the incoming administration.[24] According to Bloomberg, she was considered for the post of U.S. Trade Representative or Director of National Intelligence.[24]

In 2016, Catz was the highest paid female CEO of any US company, earning $40.9 million after a 23% drop in her total compensation relative to 2015.[25] In 2022, Catz's total compensation from Oracle was $138 million, making her the sixth highest paid CEO in the US that year.[26]

Catz was elected to the board of directors of The Walt Disney Company in December 2017, effective February 2018.[27]

In March 2021 Catz garnered attention for her stock trading, for acquiring 2.25 million shares through the conversion of derivatives, before selling them on the open market at roughly double the price.[28][29]

In March 2022 she was appointed to the Homeland Security Advisory Council by Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas[30]

She was ranked 11th on Fortune's list of Most Powerful Women in 2023.[31]

Political involvement

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During the 2016 Republican presidential primaries, Catz donated to the campaign of Marco Rubio.[32] Following Donald Trump's victory in the 2016 election, Catz was named as a member of his transition team.[33][34][35] During this period, media outlets frequently mentioned her as a potential appointee to a position in the Trump administration.[36][32] Bloomberg News reported that these included the positions of Director of National Intelligence and United States Trade Representative.[37]

In 2018, she was reportedly on the shortlist to replace H. R. McMaster as National Security Advisor.[38] During the 2018 election cycle, Catz donated over $150,000 to Republican-aligned groups and individuals,[39] including Congressman Devin Nunes.[40] Together with her spouse, Catz contributed $250,000 to Donald Trump's 2020 presidential campaign.[41]

As a board member of The Walt Disney Company, Catz's objections to the gay character in Walt Disney Animation Studios' 2022 film Strange World were so strong that she threatened to have then-Disney CEO Bob Chapek fired if the film was released.[42]

Personal life

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Catz has been married to Gal Tirosh, a former soccer coach, since 1997. They have two sons.[5][43] She resides in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.[44]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Oracle Co-President Safra Catz Adds CFO Duties as Jeff Epstein Leaves, an April 25, 2011, article from allthingsd.com
  2. ^ "Oracle Board Appoints Larry Ellison Executive Chairman and CTO. Safra Catz and Mark Hurd Appointed CEO". Oracle Corporation. Archived from the original on September 19, 2014. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  3. ^ Sayer, Peter (October 18, 2019). "Oracle Co-CEO Mark Hurd dies". CIO. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
  4. ^ "Ellison's heir apparent pushes growth strategy". East Bay Times. August 17, 2016.
  5. ^ a b c Rochelle Garner (December 19, 2006). "Heir apparent at Oracle is credited with growth strategy". International Herald Tribune. Archived from the original on December 19, 2006.
  6. ^ Ruth Eglash (August 23, 2012). "Jewish women who rule! (according to Forbes)". Jpost. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
  7. ^ Jewish Voice New York: "The World's Most Powerful Jewish Women" By Jen Levey September 5, 2012.
  8. ^ Chirileasa, Andrei (May 20, 2014). "Oracle CFO Safra Catz announces expansion outside Bucharest, reveals Romanian origins". Romania-Insider.com. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  9. ^ "Oracle's enforcer - Safra Catz - Sep. 10, 2009". money.cnn.com. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  10. ^ "Could Israeli-born businesswoman replace McMaster?". www.israelnationalnews.com.
  11. ^ a b Safra Catz from the Forbes 2005 list of The Most Powerful Women. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  12. ^ "ORCL Safra Ada Catz Insider Trades for Oracle Corp". marketwatch.com. May 22, 2023.
  13. ^ Workday's $10B plan to outsell Oracle. Accounting Today. https://www.accountingtoday.com/articles/workdays-10b-plan-to-outsell-oracle-in-hr-software
  14. ^ Quiénes son las madres tecnológicas más poderosas del mundo, by Desiree Jaimovich. Infobae. https://www.infobae.com/tecno/2016/10/16/quienes-son-las-madres-tecnologicas-mas-poderosas-del-mundo/
  15. ^ Safra A. Catz | Executive Biography from Oracle.com
  16. ^ Grant, Nico (December 12, 2019). "Safra Catz to Remain Sole Oracle CEO After Mark Hurd's Death". Fortune. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  17. ^ Lashinsky, Adam (September 28, 2009). "The Enforcer". Fortune. 160 (6): 117–124.
  18. ^ "The 100 Most Powerful Women". Forbes.com. August 19, 2009.
  19. ^ "The World's 100 Most Powerful Women". Forbes. Retrieved June 24, 2014.
  20. ^ "The World's Most Powerful Women 2023". Forbes.
  21. ^ "25 highest-paid women – Safra A. Catz". Fortune. CNNMoney. September 27, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2012. [needs update]
  22. ^ "Stanford GSB: Safra A. Catz". Retrieved March 2, 2016.
  23. ^ Szu Ping Chan and Tim Wallace (November 13, 2015). "HSBC board shake-up brings former Diageo boss Paul Walsh aboard". Daily Telegraph.
  24. ^ a b "Trump Team Talked to Oracle's Safra Catz About an Administration Post". Bloomberg.com. April 12, 2017. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  25. ^ Keitz, Anders (April 23, 2017). "Oracle's Safra Catz is Highest Paid Female CEO". TheStreet. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  26. ^ Smith, Morgan (July 5, 2023). "These are the 10 highest-paid CEOs in the U.S.—some pull in over $200 million a year". CNBC. Archived from the original on April 4, 2024. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
  27. ^ James, Meg (December 7, 2017). "Disney adds two board members from tech world". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 16, 2017.
  28. ^ "Here's how much Oracle CEO Safra Catz earned from shares this month". March 29, 2021.
  29. ^ "US SEC – Statement of Changes in Beneficial Ownership". March 22, 2021.
  30. ^ "Homeland Security Advisory Council Members". DHS. March 2022. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
  31. ^ "Most Powerful Women". Fortune.
  32. ^ a b Darrow, Barb (November 17, 2016). "Trump Is Considering This High-Tech Exec for Cabinet Post". Fortune. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  33. ^ "Oracle CEO Catz to join Trump transition team, remain at Oracle". Reuters. December 15, 2016. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  34. ^ Solon, Olivia (December 21, 2016). "Oracle executive publicly resigns after CEO joins Trump's transition team". The Guardian. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  35. ^ "Oracle CEO Safra Catz is joining Trump's transition team, but she'll remain at Oracle". Business Insider.
  36. ^ Jaffe, Alexandra; Rafferty, Andrew (November 17, 2016). "Romney May Be in, Gingrich Out of Trump Cabinet". NBC News.
  37. ^ Womack, Brian (April 12, 2017). "Trump Team Talked to Oracle's Safra Catz About an Administration Post". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  38. ^ Weinberger, Matt. "Oracle CEO is reportedly on the short list to replace H.R. McMaster as Trump's national security adviser". Business Insider. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  39. ^ Reklaitis, Victor; Marriner, Katie (October 22, 2018). "How America's top CEOs are spending their own money on the midterm elections". Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  40. ^ Markay, Lachlan; Stein, Sam (February 12, 2018). "The Silicon Valley Giant Bankrolling Devin Nunes". Daily Beast. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  41. ^ "Here Are The Billionaires Who Donated To Donald Trump's 2020 Presidential Campaign". Forbes. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  42. ^ Stewart, James B.; Barnes, Brooks (September 8, 2024). "The Palace Coup at the Magic Kingdom". New York TImes. Archived from the original on September 8, 2024. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  43. ^ Cohen, Haley (September 25, 2022). "Safra Catz: Leading Oracle to new heights in cloud-based computing". The Jerusalem Post.
  44. ^ Feinstein, Naomi (May 29, 2024). "Seven Florida Residents Make Forbes List of Richest Self-Made Women". Miami New Times.
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