Ex-Microsoft man is Oracle's new president

Oracle has picked former Microsoft exec Greg Maffei to be president and chief financial officer.

Maffei, best known for his role as the CFO of Microsoft from 1997 to 2000, had been serving as the chairman and chief executive of 360networks, a provider of broadband communications services for small and midsize businesses. At Oracle, he is immediately taking on the role of president. He'll assume CFO responsibilities sometime in July, the company said on Friday.

His responsibilities will be to oversee operations in several areas, including human resources, manufacturing and distribution, global real estate, and the legal department, the company said.

"I am thrilled to be joining Oracle," Maffei said in a statement. "Oracle is one of the premier technology franchises on the front end of an extremely strong product cycle. I am excited to help lead the company during this next round of growth."

Oracle did not immediately indicate how Maffei's appointment would affect the roles of Safra Catz and Charles Phillips, who have been acting as co-presidents in addition to serving on the company's board of directors. Executive biographies for Catz and Phillips remain live on Oracle's site. Catz is also listed as the company's current CFO, a role she assumed in March after Harry You left the job to become chief executive at BearingPoint.

Phillips, when asked last April about his thoughts on working with Larry Ellison as a number two and whether Oracle was a good place for him to stick around, noted that a number of Silicon Valley leaders have emerged from the database giant.

"He's produced several CEOs in the Valley - Tom Siebel, Craig Conway, Ray Lane. Some pretty famous people have worked at Oracle as number twos," Phillips said during a quick interview at an Oracle customer event. "He's had some good number twos that have worked out for both him and for other companies."

Matt Hines writes for CNET News.com