Mark Hurd Could Get $11 Million from Oracle

In this file photo, Mark Hurd, delivers a keynote address at the 2007 Oracle Open World conference in San Francisco, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

NEW YORK—Recruited to become president at Silicon Valley software giant Oracle Corp., former Hewlett-Packard Co. CEO Mark Hurd will earn a salary of $950,000, with potential for bonuses of up to $10 million.

According to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing by Oracle, Hurd is eligible for bonus of up to $10 million in addition to his base salary. Hurd “will have responsibility for Oracle’s global sales, consulting, marketing and support organizations,” the filing read.

Hurd also has rights to purchase up to 10 million shares of the company, letting him profit further should the company’s shares go up.

Hurd left HP on Aug. 6 following charges that he violated HP’s business conduct by failing to disclose a personal relationship with a female contractor. His severance from HP would pay him more than $12 million.

After his ouster, Oracle Chairman and billionaire entrepreneur Larry Ellison—a longtime friend of Hurd’s—criticized HP’s decision and compared it to Apple Inc. firing Steve Jobs decades ago. Ellison later recruited Hurd to join him at Oracle, the world’s No. 2 software maker.

HP Sues

Following announcement that Hurd has signed on with Oracle, HP earlier this week filed a lawsuit in Santa Clara County against its former CEO, claiming that Hurd’s decision to join Oracle constitutes breach of contract.

“Mark Hurd agreed to and signed agreements designed to protect HP’s trade secrets and confidential information. HP intends to enforce those agreements,” said HP in a statement.

At the heart of the lawsuit is a clause in Hurd’s exit contract that he would not jeopardize HP’s trade secrets and other confidential information, something that HP believes Hurd violated by joining Oracle as president.

He “will be in a situation in which he cannot perform his duties for Oracle without necessarily using and disclosing HP’s trade secrets,” according to court documents.

Oracle is not a direct competitor to HP, as the company focuses on business software, whereas HP’s main business is in computer and networking hardware. The two companies have been partners in the past, but their relationship may be strained going forward.

In a statement, Ellison called HP’s lawsuit “vindictive.”

“The HP Board is making it virtually impossible for Oracle and HP to continue to cooperate and work together in the IT marketplace,” he said.