The truth finally comes out: "Ex-President of Oracle To Join Kleiner Perkins
By LEE GOMES
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Ray Lane, former No. 2 executive at Oracle Corp., hardly has a bad thing
to say about his former employer -- except that it is a company full of yes
men who tend to be less than candid about their products.
Mr. Lane abruptly left the business-software giant in June after an
eight-year stint. One reason was that his responsibilities as president and
chief operating officer had been reduced by Lawrence Ellison, Oracle's
chief executive. Mr. Lane, 53 years old, said following his departure that
he wanted to devote more time to his two young children by his second
marriage.
Wednesday, Mr. Lane announced that he will become a general partner at
Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, the prominent Silicon Valley
venture-capital firm.
And in an interview scheduled with that announcement, Mr. Lane harshly
criticized Mr. Ellison, making clear that his departure from Oracle wasn't
amicable. In response to Mr. Lane's comments, Mr. Ellison strongly
defended himself and the company.
A Great Admirer Yet
Mr. Lane said he remains a great admirer of
Oracle and Mr. Ellison. He said, for example,
that Mr. Ellison's oversight of the main Oracle database product in the
early 1990s "saved" the company, and that lately, Mr. Ellison has
"reinvigorated" Oracle to take advantage of the opportunities presented by
the Internet. That work made Mr. Lane's net worth, based largely in
Oracle stock, soar to nearly a billion dollars.
But Mr. Lane also said that Mr. Ellison is utterly dominating the company
right now, something that might prove to be harmful in the long run, since
Oracle won't be able to develop the strong management team it needs.
"It's just like with kids," Mr. Lane said. "If you make all their decisions for
them, they will go out as adults not knowing how to make decisions
themselves." The executives now reporting to Mr. Ellison, said Mr. Lane,
"are not decision makers. They aren't leaders. They just do what Larry
says. They wouldn't know how to make a decision without Larry making it
for them."
Mr. Lane came to Oracle, of Redwood Shores, Calif., in 1992 at a time
when the company's credibility in the market was low. He said Wednesday
that studies he commissioned at that time found that many customers
"would never do business again with a Larry Ellison company."
The reason, Mr. Lane said, is that Oracle would sell products it didn't
have. "Larry is a visionary, and expresses the vision so well that people
believe it's a product." When he first got to Oracle, Mr. Lane said,
"managers would be willing to take the order and make a lot of money,"
even though the products often didn't exist. "That's the discipline I put into
the company," he said. "I told the sales force, 'After what Larry says is the
vision, tell the customer the truth about what we can actually deliver.' "
'Needs More Balance'
Mr. Lane indicated that he is worried that with him gone, Oracle might
lapse back to its old ways. "The company needs more balance," he said.
Mr. Ellison rejected his former deputy's criticisms.
Oracle's managers, Mr. Ellison said, were in many cases chosen by Mr.
Lane himself. "He is criticizing his own team for being weak. When did
they become yes men? I am thrilled they are all here. They are delivering
exceptional results."
Mr. Ellison also said the company doesn't sell products it doesn't have.
"He is the soul, the conscience of Oracle, and the other 45,000 of us are
criminals?" Mr. Ellison asked. "It's astounding. We don't sell products that
don't exist because it's against the law."
Even while he was at Oracle, Mr. Lane was sometimes outspoken on the
subject of Mr. Ellison. Once, for example, he described how top
executives of Boeing Corp. were no longer dealing with Oracle about an
important "business-to-business" contract because they were angry that
Mr. Ellison had publicly stated, incorrectly, that Oracle had won the deal.
And his latest comments about Oracle should be viewed in the context of
his new job. At Kleiner Perkins, he will be helping start-up companies in
business-to-business software and services, some of which may potentially
compete with Oracle.
Mr. Lane said he was attracted to the venture-capital job in large part
because it will mean less travel. "When you are spending 70% of your time
on airplanes, you have to step back and say, 'Why am I doing this?' " He
also predicted a looming shakeout at many Internet companies, which will
make his sort of operational experience even more valuable, since he will
be able to provide guidance to the surviving companies.
Mr. Lane was originally slated to stay on Oracle's board following his
departure. He said Wednesday, though, that he might leave it in the fall,
when his term expires. |
