Oracle loses top exec to AlphaBlox

The Mountain View, California-based start-up, which develops Web-based analytical applications, said Sumner has been appointed to the newly created position where she will work alongside chief executive Michael Skok to help bring the three-year old company to its next step in the growing e-business analysis market space.

Sumner, 44, joins a growing list of other senior-level executives at established firms who have recently been lured by leadership roles in smaller and younger high-tech or Internet-related companies.

In the past few months, IBM Global Services, SAP, and EDS have all lost executives who chose to move on to a start-up. As reported, longtime IBM executive Bob Howe left Big Blue to head Scient, a provider of services to companies setting up Internet commerce. Oracle rival SAP America lost its former chief executive Paul Wahl, who now works for front office software leader Siebel, to start-up TriStrata Security. In July, 26-year EDS veteran Gary Moore, the former head of its E.Solutions unit, left the services giant to become chief executive at Silicon Valley start-up Enterprise Networking Systems.

Sumner, a 12-year Oracle veteran, started her technology career at IBM where she worked in sales for its general systems division. For the last 11 years, Sumner led several Oracle business groups as a senior vice president. She was one of Oracle's top-ranking female executives.

Most recently, Sumner was senior vice president of Oracle's telecommunications industry where she worked directly under Oracle's president and COO and was responsible for the company's telecommunications strategy and sales. Prior to that role, Sumner was vice president of worldwide alliances where she was responsible for the development of Oracle's software, hardware, and systems integration alliances worldwide.

AlphaBlox, who currently has 50 employees, said Sumner will start her new job on September 13.