Larry Ellison

Co-founder, executive chairman & CTO, Oracle

Larry Ellison is Oracle’s co-founder, executive chairman and chief technology officer. He founded the business with Bob Miner and Ed Oates in 1977 and served as its chief executive until September 2014. His career spans relational database software, enterprise applications and cloud infrastructure. Oracle’s expansion during his leadership included PeopleSoft and Sun Microsystems, followed by developments in autonomous databases and AI-enabled data management.

Follow Larry Ellison

Get AI Secret’s free daily briefing, including Larry Ellison and the wider AI industry.

Explore the coverage

Photo: Oracle PR Hartmann StudiosCC BY 2.0 · Displayed in grayscale

At a glance

Current role: Executive chairman & CTO, Oracle ↗
Company founded: Software Development Laboratories, 1977 ↗
Co-founders: Bob Miner; Ed Oates ↗
Previously: Oracle CEO until September 2014 ↗
Known for: Oracle; relational databases; enterprise software ↗
Coverage: Databases; cloud infrastructure; enterprise AI ↗

Sources checked 25 October 2026. Selected career background and milestones.

Career, in context.

Selected research, leadership and career milestones, newest first.

2024
Oracle adds AI Vector Search
Oracle’s Database 23ai introduces AI Vector Search and other features, adding AI-oriented capabilities to the database product during Ellison’s tenure as chief technology officer.
Source: Oracle ↗
Sep
2014
Becomes executive chairman and CTO
Ellison ends his tenure as Oracle chief executive in September 2014. He continues serving the company as executive chairman and chief technology officer.
Source: Oracle ↗
2010
Oracle acquires Sun Microsystems
Oracle completes its acquisition of Sun Microsystems, expanding into integrated hardware and software systems and taking stewardship of Java during Ellison’s tenure as CEO.
Source: Oracle ↗
2005
Oracle acquires PeopleSoft
Oracle acquires PeopleSoft, expanding its business in human resources and enterprise resource planning applications while Ellison remains the company’s chief executive officer.
Source: Oracle ↗
1986
Oracle goes public
Oracle becomes a publicly traded company on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker ORCL, adding a capital-markets milestone to Ellison’s tenure leading the database business.
Source: Oracle ↗
1979
Ships Oracle’s commercial database
Oracle introduces Version 2 of its database management system in 1979, an early commercial relational database product in the development of modern data management.
Source: Oracle ↗
1977
Co-founds the company behind Oracle
Ellison, Bob Miner and Ed Oates establish Software Development Laboratories in Santa Clara, California, beginning the business that would later become Oracle Corporation.
Source: Oracle ↗