HP's Mark Hurd could be heading to Oracle

Mark Hurd left HP under a cloud last month

Former HP chief executive Mark Hurd is on his way to Oracle, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

Hurd resigned from HP after an expenses scandal last month, but may be about to become the number two at Oracle.

"The exact nature of Mr Hurd's new job could not be learned," said the report. "The people familiar with the matter cautioned that talks weren't complete, and it was possible Mr Hurd's hiring could still fall through. Oracle's board still needs to approve any appointment."

Oracle chief executive Larry Ellison came out in support of Hurd early on in the resignation affair, and suggested that the HP board had acted in error when it decided to let Hurd go.

Ellison, who is a friend of Hurd's, penned an email to The New York Times in which he said that the decision was the worst made by a technology firm since Apple let Steve Jobs go.

"The HP board just made the worst personnel decision since the idiots on the Apple board fired Steve Jobs many years ago," he said. "That decision nearly destroyed Apple, and would have if Steve hadn't come back and saved them."

Ellison supported Hurd in the face of sexual harassment claims, which he said should never have been a factor in his leaving the firm. He added that the decision was not in the best interests of the business or its shareholders.

"In losing Mark Hurd, the HP board failed to act in the best interests of HP's employees, shareholders, customers and partners," he wrote.

"The HP board admits that it fully investigated the sexual harassment claims against Mark and found them to be utterly false."