Oracle Corp on Monday has appointed two new chief executives to replace long-time CEO Safra Catz, as the U.S. software giant takes on a new role in securing and recreating TikTok’s recommendation algorithm under a White House-backed plan.
The company named Clay Magouyrk, formerly president of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), and Mike Sicilia, previously head of Oracle Industries, as its new co-CEOs.
Both executives had been promoted to lead their respective segments in June.
Catz, who has led Oracle since 2014, was appointed executive vice chair of the board. Oracle founder and chair Larry Ellison said he would continue working closely with her. “In her role as Vice Chair, Safra and I will be able to continue our 26-year partnership helping to guide Oracle’s direction, growth, and success,” Ellison said in a statement.
Shares of Oracle rose less than 1% in early trading before paring gains. By mid-morning, the stock was up 2.37% at $315.98.
The leadership change coincided with confirmation from the White House that Oracle will be responsible for recreating and securing a new version of TikTok’s algorithm. The arrangement is aimed at ensuring U.S. ownership of the app’s recommendation software after its Chinese parent ByteDance Ltd agreed to divest the U.S. operations.
Under the proposed structure, owners of the U.S.-based TikTok will lease a copy of the existing algorithm from ByteDance, which Oracle would then retrain, Bloomberg reported. The plan is designed to address U.S. national security concerns and avert a looming ban on the popular short-video platform, which has 170 million American users.
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Oracle has long been tied to TikTok’s U.S. operations, storing data from American users under a 2020 deal that was part of the Trump administration’s push to restrict the app. Reports said expanding that role through the new algorithm agreement could strengthen Oracle’s position in consumer-facing technologies and boost revenue for its cloud business.
Oracle has joined a consortium of U.S. investors, including venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and Silver Lake Management, that is expected to acquire TikTok’s U.S. assets. The company’s role in securing the algorithm is seen as central to ensuring U.S. regulatory approval of the deal.
Catz’s exit as CEO marks the end of an era for one of the most prominent female executives in Silicon Valley. A former investment banker, she steered Oracle through a decade of acquisitions and oversaw its pivot into cloud services, setting the stage for the company’s next chapter under shared leadership.
