Oracle executive heads to Iraq to help with rebuilding

Oracle Corp.’s recently appointed senior vice president of homeland security solutions is taking a leave of absence to serve as chief operating officer for the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, the company said.

Retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General Joseph “Keith” Kellogg joined Oracle in July as part of the company’s efforts to bolster its government sales. Kellogg now will take a temporary leave of absence to go to Iraq and work for Coalition Provisional Authority administrator L. Paul Bremer, an Oracle spokesman said.

“The leadership skills and character traits that made Keith the right person for this mission are the same ones that prompted Oracle to hire him to lead our homeland security team after he retired in July from a 32-year military career,” he said in a statement sent via e-mail.

Kellogg is not rejoining the army, but will be working for the Coalition Provisional Authority as a U.S. citizen, the spokesman said. Kellogg is expected to leave for Iraq by the end of the month and should be back at Oracle in a few months. His position will not be filled during his absence, the spokesman said.

Oracle is bullish about the opportunities in the government space where spending is robust. Kevin Fitzgerald, senior vice president of government, education and health care at Oracle in July said he sees the U.S. government’s US$38 billion 2003 homeland security budget as “one of the most important government initiatives in the last 50 years.”

Oracle customers already include the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the Transportation Security Administration.