Clay Magouyrk, 39, who runs the company’s data centre business and joined from Amazon in 2014, and Mike Sicilia, 51, head of Oracle’s applications division, will now share the top seat as co-CEOs. Catz, who took charge alongside former HP boss Mark Hurd back in 2014, will move upstairs as executive vice-chair of the board.

The reshuffle comes hot on the heels of quarterly results showing Oracle cashing in on a rush of AI outfits and hyperscalers desperate for data centre gear.

Oracle chairman and the firm’s largest shareholder Larry Ellison gushed: “Safra led Oracle as we became a hyperscale cloud powerhous, clearly demonstrated by our recent results.”

Wall Street is lapping it up. Oracle shares have soared more than 80 per cent this year, briefly propelling Ellison past Elon Musk as the world’s richest man. The stock is being juiced by confidence that Oracle’s belated cloud pivot is finally paying off, with AI start-ups such as OpenAI handing it monster contracts.

Oracle recently inked a five-year deal with OpenAI worth $300 billion (€280 billion), forming the backbone of the Stargate project, which is meant to build next-generation AI infrastructure.

The new bosses are being rewarded handsomely. Magouyrk gets a $250 million (€234 million) stock package while Sicilia pockets $100 million (€94 million). Both packages vest over four years, with performance targets sprinkled in.

Catz told analysts she would still be hands-on: “Oracle red runs through my blood. You want to make a transition like this when things are great.”

The shuffle also sets up Oracle to play a big role in the US government’s forced ByteDance carve-up. Oracle is expected to take a stake in the TikTok spin-off and run storage and algorithm management as part of a consortium of American investors.

Oracle’s North America sales chief Mark Hura has been tapped to lead global field operations, while Doug Kehring, executive vice-president of operations, will now serve as principal financial officer.