To help answer that, I sought the advice of Oracle president Mark Hurd, one of the best-known tech-industry executives in the world and a business leader who probably has as many or more discussions with CEOs as well as CIOs as any executive on the planet.

FORBES: Oracle's Mark Hurd: What CEOs Want from CIOs

The Wall Street Journal suggests this could be related to some instant messages he sent in which he criticized Oracle co-president Mark Hurd.

FORBES: Connect

"We used to joke that Larry is brilliant but time-dyslexic, " says Mark Porter, who worked at Oracle in the 1990s on video-on-demand technology that never debuted.

FORBES: Irreplaceable?

Meanwhile, Bloomberg reports that a number of high profile Valley execs have turned down the top job at AMD, including Apple COO Tim Cook, Oracle Co-President Mark Hurd, EMC COO Pat Gelsinger and Carlyle Group managing director Greg Summe.

FORBES: Connect

On Monday, Oracle announced its hire of Mark Hurd in a co-president role.

FORBES: Oracle and Hurd Play Hardball

You can get a glimpse of what lies down the road for Oracle, from our blogger Richard Levick, who finds that new co-president Mark Hurd has gotten off to a surprisingly strong start there.

FORBES: Leadership Highlights of the Week