Oracle appoints Hilary Maxson as CFO amid major layoffs — What we know about her salary, stock options
Oracle Corporation on Monday announced the appointment of Hilary Maxson as its new Chief Financial Officer (CFO), just days after the tech giant conducted a sweeping round of layoffs affecting nearly 30,000 employees worldwide.
The executive joins from Schneider Electric, where he served as CFO and Executive Vice President for nearly six years.
Oracle said his appointment is effective immediately.
Oracle said in a statement that Maxson will take office during a period of “rapid growth” as customer demand for cloud infrastructure exceeds supply. In his new role, he will report to co-CEO Clay Magouyrk.
Hillary Maxson’s compensation package
Maxson, 48, will earn a base salary of $950,000 annually. He will also be eligible to receive a performance-based bonus with a target of $2.5 million, according to the regulatory filing. Oracle also agreed to pay up to $250,000 of the executive’s relocation expenses for up to 12 months from the executive’s start date.
He will also receive stock awards with an intended grant value of $26 million, with 80% time-based ($20.8 million) and 20% performance-based ($5.2 million), according to Oracle. Can choose between 100% stock options or 50% options and 50% restricted stock units (RSUs).
Time-based equity will be spread over four years: 40% after the first year, 30% after the second, 20% after the third and the remaining 10% after the fourth year, depending on continuity of service. Performance-based equity will be earned over a three-year period ending May 31, 2028, and upon achievement of certain revenue targets.
From training to experience before — all about Hilary Maxson
Maxson holds a bachelor’s degree and an MBA from Cornell University. He also serves as a non-executive director at Anglo American plc and chairs its Audit Committee, according to the press release.
Prior to joining Oracle, Maxson served as Executive Vice President and Group CFO at Schneider Electric. The company is known worldwide for its work in electrification, automation and digital systems and generates more than $45 billion in annual revenue.
Early in his career, Maxson worked at AES Corporation for over a decade; where he held a variety of senior leadership roles in finance, strategy, Mergers and acquisitions, and supported complex, capital-intensive infrastructure investments in global markets.
With Maxson stepping in, Doug Kehring will leave his position as Oracle’s Chief Financial Officer. However, Kehring will continue to serve as the company’s Executive Vice President of Operations.
Layoffs and heavy artificial intelligence spending at Oracle
The appointment was announced shortly after Oracle’s mass layoffs sent shockwaves through the industry. Although the company has not officially shared the exact number of affected employees, media reports suggest that more than 30,000 people worldwide have been affected by the layoffs.
Oracle had approximately 162,000 full-time employees as of May 2025, according to its most recent 10-K filing. In a separate stock exchange filing in March, the company said it expects the total cost of the restructuring plan to reach $2.1 billion in fiscal 2026. A significant part of this amount will be used for severance pay and related expenses.
Meanwhile, in recent years, Oracle has been changing its strategy to grow its cloud computing business with a strong focus on artificial intelligence. Through these efforts, Oracle aims to position itself as a viable competitor against market leaders such as Amazon and Microsoft.
In February, Oracle planned to raise revenue from $45 billion to $50 billion in calendar year 2026 through a combination of debt and equity to finance the rapid expansion of cloud capacity. Bloomberg report. The company’s total debt has already surpassed $100 billion following $58 billion in new issuances tied to data center investments.
