After three years as president of product development at Oracle, Thomas Kurian is temporarily stepping away from the company, CNBC reports.
Neither Oracle nor Mr. Kurian specified how long he will be away, but a company spokesperson said "we expect him to return soon" in an email to CNBC.
Mr. Kurian joined Oracle in 1996, and took on his current role in 2015. Some have called Mr. Kurian "arguably the most important person at Oracle not named Larry Ellison" — the company's executive chairman of the board and chief technology officer — USA Today wrote in 2016.
As a top Oracle executive, Mr. Kurian is charged with software development and bringing Oracle's own technology to the cloud. In the fiscal year ended May 31, 2017, Mr. Kurian earned $35.7 million in total compensation and acquired the maximum possible amount of performance stock units, according to filings reviewed by CNBC.