The talent density at Oracle was significant, as many core team members went on to create or reinvent major technologies at companies like Google, Facebook, and Twitter.

Most successful tech companies are run by their founders for a long time; if you don't want to be a long-term CEO, reconsider starting a company.

Oracle is not just an enterprise company; we have many customers in the consumer business, including major phone companies like AT&T and Verizon.

Returning as CEO was a crucial moment for me because I had the moral authority to define the company's direction and the community's role.

I'm John Willie, a three-time founder with degrees from MIT and Stanford, and I've had multiple successful exits in the tech industry.

In the late '90s and early 2000s, Oracle made a courageous decision to transition from Solaris to Linux as its core platform, enabling the development of large-scale distributed systems.

When I became CEO, the dotcom bubble was bursting, antitrust issues dominated the company's culture, and we faced a significant accounting headache that affected profitability.

I was forced out as CEO after a period of rapid growth, which was influenced by market changes and compliance issues that made investors nervous. David, the CEO, focused on attacking me for six months, which ultimately drove the company into the ground.

After 25 years as CEO of Salesforce, I believe you have to leave it all on the field to achieve success.