Former Google, Snapchat Exec to Run Oracle Cloud

Google (GOOG) lost a valuable asset earlier this year when Google App Engine engineering head Peter Magnusson left to join Snapchat, but according to reports, Magnusson has been snapped up recently by Oracle (ORCL) to head up its cloud computing initiatives.

According to Re/code, Magnusson joined Oracle about two weeks ago. Magnusson previously was vice president of Engineering at Snapchat and director of Engineering at Google. That provides Oracle with a potentially huge opportunity to mine the brain of a cloud computing veteran.

It’s an interesting move for Magnusson, who really didn’t spent all that much time at Snapchat, which is a significant Google customer. It seems unlikely that Magnusson had already accomplished everything that he and Snapchat had hoped to accomplish, but the engineering executive’s shift to Oracle could mean big things for his new employer, which is trying to play catch-up in the cloud services market.

Magnusson worked for Google for approximately 3.5 years before moving on to Snapchat, but the executive apparently didn’t last long with his new employer—six months, to be exact, before resigning. He stepped back up into the major leagues by taking on a role with Oracle, which should put him in an important position for defining the Oracle cloud strategy and helping to develop it. And his presence seems to suggest an increased priority on cloud for Oracle.

According to reports, Magnusson will be reporting to Oracle CTO Larry Ellison and Thomas Kurian, Oracle’s executive vice president of product development.