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By Sarah Left, 4 July 2000 00:30

NEWS The sudden departure of Oracle president Ray Lane will not have a dramatic impact on the company's stability, but it may allow CEO Larry Ellison to take on a more hands-on role, according to industry analysts. Lane took care of the day to day running of key functions such as sales and marketing in his eight years at the company, while Ellison focused on communicating Oracle's vision. Analysts agreed that a more hands-on Ellison will be good for Oracle, but that he can't make it alone. Philip Carnelley, manager of applications research at Ovum, said: "Larry has been good for the company's application business, because he decided to pay attention to it. Ray never concerned himself about the product, he worried about sales and marketing. It's always been very clear that Larry comes up with the vision and Ray implements the vision. Whether Larry is the person to pull together sales as well as the product remains to be seen. So they do need to replace Ray Lane." According to US reports, three executives - all of whom will report directly to Ellison - will take over Lane's duties. They are executive vice presidents Gary Bloom and Safra Catz, and CFO Jeff Henley. Bloom was reported to have been taking over some of Lane's duties over the last few months. Lane had been running the Oracle's day-to-day operations since 1992, bringing it back from the brink of bankruptcy in the early 90s and centralising sales and marketing strategies. Lane's name has previously been linked with top jobs at Compaq and Novell, although he has not made public any future plans. He will remain on Oracle's board of directors. Robin Bloor, CEO of Bloor Research, said: "Lane was a success at Oracle, and he presided over eight years of no problems. Bloom will step in and it will be as though nothing has happened. There won't be a crisis." Carnelley said, "It's surprising Lane lasted so long. Larry is known to be difficult to work for." In a statement, Oracle's chairman and CEO, Larry Ellison, said: "I am grateful to Ray for all of his efforts. He will be missed. We wish him nothing but the best."