SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mark Hurd, the president of Oracle (NASDAQ:ORCL), addressed Utah executives in a candid Q-and-A discussion at The Utah Technology Council (UTC) Hall of Fame Celebration Nov. 4 at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City. The annual event also inducted Stephen Jacobsen and Mark Fuller into its growing list of Hall of Fame honorees.

“Companies need to grow in order to succeed”
Hurd spoke to an audience of roughly 800, largely impromptu, as Oracle CEO Larry Ellison was too ill to attend.

“Companies need to grow in order to succeed,” he told Utah executives. “To do that, they need access to infrastructure, to investment, and most importantly to talent.”

Noting that IT budgets are rising at a mere one percent per year, Hurd said that to grow, companies must build entirely new IT infrastructures without additional budget. “Every company has great opportunities due to emerging technology, but is needing to innovate and grow in the face of greater challenges than ever before,” he remarked.

“People are the most important commodity. This is one of the reasons for Oracle’s significant presence here in Utah,” he said.

Hurd was asked his greatest surprises upon joining Oracle in late 2010, and his opinion of HP under its new and current leadership. In the candid discussion, Hurd noted he had known Oracle well as both a friend and competitor for numerous years prior to his appointment as president last year.

“There was really nothing at Oracle that surprised me,” he said. “However, every company, invariably, needs to face big surprises every month and every quarter, and their ability to respond is critical for them to succeed.”

About HP he noted, “If HP can focus most on what they do best, they will succeed. They should strive to become the ‘best HP’ they can possibly be, just as Oracle should continue to strive for the same set of goals--to be the strongest and best version of Oracle we can possibly be.”

“Our annual Hall of Fame celebration is the premier event for our technology industries,” said Richard R. Nelson, UTC founder and CEO. “We are extremely appreciative to benefit from memorable experiences, and this year’s Hall of Fame has been no exception, as we gained the opportunity to visit with one of the top executives from one of the world’s top companies as we join to celebrate the achievements of our two newest Hall of Fame inductees.”

The Annual Hall of Fame event honors individuals with Utah ties that have made global contributions to the information technology, life science and clean tech industries through new technology, innovation and leadership.