By Jaspreet Singh
April 6 (Reuters) – Oracle on Monday named Hilary Maxson as its chief financial officer, tapping an executive with deep experience in infrastructure and energy as it ramps up investments to meet surging demand for artificial intelligence and cloud services.
The appointment, which reinstates a crucial position after Safra Catz became co-CEO and principal financial officer in 2014, comes when investors are closely tracking the massive AI infrastructure spending by top tech companies.
Maxson, 48, is joining from French industrial conglomerate Schneider Electric where she had served as group CFO. Her appointment is effective immediately, Oracle said.
Investors have scrutinized Oracle’s AI infrastructure build-out as its debt climbs. The company has forecast $50 billion in capital expenditure for its fiscal year ending May, more than doubling from the previous fiscal.
Oracle’s free cash flow swung to a deficit of $394 million in fiscal 2025, compared to the combined $25.3 billion from 2022 to 2024.
The cloud computing company said in February it planned to raise as much as $50 billion this year through a combination of debt and equity sales. Its shares have fallen about 25% so far this year and were down around 1% on Monday.
Maxson, who will report to Oracle co-CEO Clay Magouyrk, said she aimed to ensure continued disciplined investment for creating lasting value for both customers and shareholders.
“With AI investments currently under scrutiny, having a traditional CFO title keeps Oracle more in line with the structures of its industry peers,” Emarketer analyst Jacob Bourne said.
Meanwhile, Oracle is also laying off employees, joining companies that have cut jobs as some redirect investments into their AI efforts.
ROLE IN SCHNEIDER’S TRANSFORMATION
Since she joined in 2017, Schneider transformed from an electrical equipment supplier into a digital energy technology partner for key segments through software, data and AI, Oracle said.
Schneider referred to comments on the CFO change made in February in its earnings and declined further comment.
Oracle declined to share additional details on the appointment.
Earlier in her career, Maxson spent 12 years at power company AES Corp, where she held senior leadership roles across finance, strategy and M&A.
Doug Kehring, who led the finance operations after Oracle appointed co-CEOs and Catz was named executive vice-chair of the board in September, will now focus on the company’s go-to-market operations.
Maxson will receive an annual base salary of $950,000 and will be eligible for a performance-based bonus with a target of $2.5 million, Oracle said in a regulatory filing.
(Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Juliette Jabkhiro in Paris; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
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