Safra Catz
Catz in 2022
Born
Safra Ada Catz

(1961-12-01) December 1, 1961 (age 62)
Holon, Israel
CitizenshipUnited States
EducationUniversity of Pennsylvania (BA, JD)
OccupationCEO of Oracle
SpouseGal Tirosh
Children2

Safra Ada Catz (Hebrew: צפרא עדה כץ; born December 1, 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

Catz was born in Holon, Israel,[4] to Jewish parents.[5][6] Her father was an immigrant from Romania.[7] She moved from Israel to Brookline, Massachusetts at the age of six.

Catz graduated from Brookline High School.[8] 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.[4][9]

Career

Catz was a banker at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette,[10] 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.[11] 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.[12][13]

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][14] She is credited for having driven Oracle's 2005 efforts to acquire software rival PeopleSoft in a $10.3 billion takeover.[10] 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.[15]

In 2009 she was ranked by Fortune as the 12th most powerful woman in business.[16] In 2009 she was ranked by Forbes as the 16th most powerful businesswoman.[17] In 2014, she was ranked 24th.[18] 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.[19]

Catz is a lecturer in accounting at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.[20] Catz was a director of HSBC from 2008 to 2015.[21]

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.[22] According to Bloomberg, she was considered for the post of U.S. Trade Representative or Director of National Intelligence.[22]

Catz is the highest paid female CEO of any U.S. company as of April 2017, earning $40.9 million after a 23% drop in her total compensation relative to 2016.[23]

Catz was elected to the board of directors of The Walt Disney Company in December 2017, effective February 2018.[24]

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.[25][26]

In March 2022 she was appointed to the Homeland Security Advisory Council by Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas[27]

Political involvement

During the 2016 Republican presidential primaries, Catz donated to the campaign of Marco Rubio.[28] Following Donald Trump's victory in the 2016 election, Catz was named as a member of his transition team.[29][30][31] During this period, media outlets frequently mentioned her as a potential appointee to a position in the Trump administration.[32][28] Bloomberg News reported that these included the positions of Director of National Intelligence and United States Trade Representative.[33]

In 2018, she was reportedly on the shortlist to replace H. R. McMaster as National Security Advisor.[34] During the 2018 election cycle, Catz donated over $150,000 to Republican-aligned groups and individuals,[35] including Congressman Devin Nunes.[36] Catz donated $125,000 to Donald Trump's re-election campaign in May 2020.[37]

Personal life

Catz is married to Gal Tirosh and they have two sons.[4]

References

  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. ^ a b c Rochelle Garner (December 19, 2006). "Heir apparent at Oracle is credited with growth strategy". International Herald Tribune.
  5. ^ Ruth Eglash (August 23, 2012). "Jewish women who rule! (according to Forbes)". Jpost. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
  6. ^ Jewish Voice New York: "The World's Most Powerful Jewish Women" By Jen Levey September 5, 2012.
  7. ^ Chirileasa, Andrei (May 20, 2014). "Oracle CFO Safra Catz announces expansion outside Bucharest, reveals Romanian origins". Romania-Insider.com. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  8. ^ "Oracle's enforcer - Safra Catz - Sep. 10, 2009". money.cnn.com. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  9. ^ "Could Israeli-born businesswoman replace McMaster?". www.israelnationalnews.com.
  10. ^ a b Safra Catz from the Forbes 2005 list of The Most Powerful Women. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  11. ^ "ORCL Safra Ada Catz Insider Trades for Oracle Corp". marketwatch.com. May 22, 2023.
  12. ^ Workday's $10B plan to outsell Oracle. Accounting Today. https://www.accountingtoday.com/articles/workdays-10b-plan-to-outsell-oracle-in-hr-software
  13. ^ 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/
  14. ^ Safra A. Catz | Executive Biography from Oracle.com
  15. ^ Grant, Nico (December 12, 2019). "Safra Catz to Remain Sole Oracle CEO After Mark Hurd's Death". Fortune. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  16. ^ Lashinsky, Adam (September 28, 2009). "The Enforcer". Fortune. 160 (6): 117–124.
  17. ^ "The 100 Most Powerful Women". Forbes.com. August 19, 2009.
  18. ^ "The World's 100 Most Powerful Women". Forbes. Retrieved June 24, 2014.
  19. ^ "25 highest-paid women – Safra A. Catz". Fortune. CNNMoney. September 27, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2012. [needs update]
  20. ^ "Stanford GSB: Safra A. Catz". Retrieved March 2, 2016.
  21. ^ Szu Ping Chan and Tim Wallace (November 13, 2015). "HSBC board shake-up brings former Diageo boss Paul Walsh aboard". Daily Telegraph.
  22. ^ a b "Trump Team Talked to Oracle's Safra Catz About an Administration Post". Bloomberg.com. April 12, 2017. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  23. ^ Keitz, Anders (April 23, 2017). "Oracle's Safra Catz is Highest Paid Female CEO". TheStreet. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  24. ^ James, Meg (December 7, 2017). "Disney adds two board members from tech world". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 16, 2017.
  25. ^ "Here's how much Oracle CEO Safra Catz earned from shares this month". March 29, 2021.
  26. ^ "US SEC – Statement of Changes in Beneficial Ownership". March 22, 2021.
  27. ^ "Homeland Security Advisory Council Members". DHS. March 2022. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
  28. ^ a b Darrow, Barb (November 17, 2016). "Trump Is Considering This High-Tech Exec for Cabinet Post". Fortune. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  29. ^ "Oracle CEO Catz to join Trump transition team, remain at Oracle". Reuters. December 15, 2016. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  30. ^ Solon, Olivia (December 21, 2016). "Oracle executive publicly resigns after CEO joins Trump's transition team". The Guardian. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  31. ^ "Oracle CEO Safra Catz is joining Trump's transition team, but she'll remain at Oracle". Business Insider.
  32. ^ Jaffe, Alexandra; Rafferty, Andrew (November 17, 2016). "Romney May Be in, Gingrich Out of Trump Cabinet". NBC News.
  33. ^ Womack, Brian (April 12, 2017). "Trump Team Talked to Oracle's Safra Catz About an Administration Post". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  34. ^ 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.
  35. ^ 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.
  36. ^ Markay, Lachlan; Stein, Sam (February 12, 2018). "The Silicon Valley Giant Bankrolling Devin Nunes". Daily Beast. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  37. ^ "Browse Individual contributions". FEC.gov. Retrieved September 24, 2020.

External links