The elevation of Kurian comes almost four months after Larry Ellison, longtime chief executive officer of Oracle, took on the role of executive chairman, handing the CEO title to his lieutenants Safra Catz and Mark Hurd.

Forty-seven year old Kurian, who joined Oracle in 1996, was previously executive vice president in charge of product development. An Oracle spokeswoman declined comment.

(Reporting by Nadia Damouni; Writing by Bill Rigby; Editing by Grant McCool)