Raymond J. Lane

Raymond J. Lane (born December 26, 1946) is an American business executive and strategist specializing in technology and finance. Lane is best known for assisting corporations with technology strategy, organizational development, team building, and sales and growth management.

Lane led a "go to market" overhaul of Oracle Corporation, which led to an increase in sales and its stock price in the 1990s. He is cited as being the catalyst for "Oracle's success, ‘past, present and future.’" He managed investments and held board memberships in startup companies, and was involved in the development of enterprise technology and alternative energy.

Early life and education

Raymond Jay Lane was born on December 26, 1946, in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh. Lane grew up in rural western Pennsylvania where his father was employed as a design engineer for steel production plants. Lane was heavily influenced by his father, who had emerged from the Depression-era steel business as the first member of his family to go to college, graduating from Carnegie Mellon as a mechanical engineer.

Career

IBM

After graduating, Lane joined IBM's data processing division in a sales position. Lane ran the new division for nearly four years. At Booz Allen, he helped develop information technology strategies. He sat on the firm's executive committee and board of directors from 1987 to 1992.

Oracle After Oracle Corporation in the early 1990s experienced serious financial issues, Lane was recruited in 1992 to turn around the firm's sales, service, consulting and marketing, Oracle, suffering from rapid growth in the late '80s without checks and balances on its customer practices, was also falling behind technologically. Lane and Jeff Henley brought what a rival described as "professional management and responsible people of integrity" to the company, and what Oracle's Jerry Held described as "bring in the adults". Under his leadership, along with Ellison and Henley, Oracle expanded from 7,500 to 40,000 employees, defeating its main database rivals Sybase and Informix, to become the leader in the database industry while building major businesses in ERP applications and consulting. In mid-2000, Lane suddenly left the company, leading to speculation Oracle's business needs had outgrown him.

Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers

In 2000, Lane accepted a position with Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB). As of 2013 Lane became partner emeritus of Kleiner Perkins.

Hewlett-Packard

Lane served as non-executive chairman on Hewlett-Packard (HP)'s board of directors from 2010 to 2011, and as executive chairman from 2011 to 2013. Lane restructured the board to add seven new directors, replaced the short-tenured CEO Leo Apotheker, and led the placement of Meg Whitman as CEO. Lane was chairman when HP decided to acquire Autonomy Corporation, a controversial acquisition that led him to step down as chairman, but remain on the board of directors.

On January 3, 2014, Lane filed a lawsuit against Deutsche Bank, and BDO Seidman, LLP alleging that he had suffered damage as a result of their having designed an allegedly "fraudulent" tax shelter.

Personal life and philanthropy

Lane has three children, Kristi, Kelley, and Kari, with his first wife, Donna.

Lane is actively involved in philanthropic endeavors, with a focus on higher education, the Special Olympics, and Cancer Research.

As the chairman of the board of trustees of Carnegie Mellon University, Lane spearheaded the institution's capital campaign and played a pivotal role in establishing its Silicon Valley campus in 2002. Additionally, Lane endowed a professorship chair (The Ray and Stephanie Lane Endowed Professorship), initially held by Robert F. Murphy, the founding head of the Computational Biology Department. The chair is currently held by Jian Ma.

Lane also supports his alma mater, West Virginia University (WVU), where he serves on its board of governors. In October 2011, Ray and Stephanie funded the organization's international expansion project, Unify, aimed at fostering inclusivity by bringing together school-aged youth with intellectual disabilities and their non-disabled peers.

Ray and Stephanie Lane are also contributors to the American Cancer Society, organizing and sponsoring events to raise funds. They initiated and funded the Stephanie H. Lane Cancer Research Network in California, dedicated to providing cancer patients with essential information and treatment resources. Smithsonian Leadership Award for Collaborative Innovation, 2001. Honorary Ph.D.'s, West Virginia University, Golden Gate University. West Virginia University, Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering. Carnegie Mellon, Lane Center for Computational Cancer Research.