Chuck Hollis Leaves VMware for Oracle, Prompts Leadership Worries

VMware Chief Strategist Chuck Hollis is the latest executive to leave the company this month, marking the fourth major departure from the virtualization giant ahead of its annual VMworld conference.

Hollis, who spent the past 21 years working as an executive in the EMC Federation, joined Oracle this week and will report to Dave Donatelli, the company’s executive vice president of Converged Infrastructure, according to Forbes. Donatelli served as Hollis’ former boss and mentor when he first joined EMC in the early ’90s.

“Very early in my career, Dave was my boss, my mentor and my friend,” said Hollis, in a personal blog post. “The idea of working for him again is very, very appealing.”

Hollis is the latest VMware executive to leave the company this month, following the news that the virtualization company’s co-channel chiefs Todd Surdey and David O’Callaghan would take on a new roles at Salesforce.com and Partner InSite, respectively. CRN reported that VMware Chief Technology Officer Ben Fathi also resigned last week after serving in his current position for more than three years.

Why Are So Many Executives Jumping Ship?

The massive personnel changes this month at VMware have prompted some talk of an “executive diaspora,” according to Fortune. While the exact reason for so many executive resignations is unknown, a combination of aggressive poaching and buyout rumors may be at the center of the controversy. CRN recently reported that Oracle is paying top dollar for EMC sales reps, possibly in an effort to weaken its competitor by taking away their best talent. Additionally, a recent Re/code report discovered EMC was considering a deal to allow VMware to acquire it in a downstream merger, but further details on the potential deal have been murky at best.

At the very least, the massive changing of the guard at VMware is sure to make for an interesting series of discussions next week once VMworld kicks off in San Francisco. While the company has yet to comment on whether it will address the widespread leadership issues at hand, it’s almost certain the migration will be top of mind for both attendees and presenters once the show begins in earnest.