The latest move at Oracle, the world's second-largest software maker, was interpreted as a shift in operational responsibilities toward Catz's co-president, Mark Hurd, who previously was Hewlett-Packard Co.'s CEO. He joined Oracle last year.

Pat Walravens, an analyst at JMP Securities LLC in San Francisco, told Bloomberg News that the CFO shuffling might open the door for Hurd to one day take the reins from Larry Ellison, Oracle's co-founder, who has run the company since 1977.

"Does this make it more likely that Mark Hurd is the eventual successor to Larry Ellison?" asked Walravens. "It seems that way to me. I think he gains more control over the day-to- day operations of Oracle because of this change."