Former HP boss moves to Oracle

Oracle has appointed Helen Stokes, former brand director at computer giant HP, as its marketing communications director for the UK and Ireland.

Stokes has worked as a freelance marketing consultant for the past 18 months after spending ten years at HP. Her last position was consumer brand and communications director.

Earlier in her career she worked at Saatchi & Saatchi and Ogilvy & Mather Direct. At Oracle she will report to vice-president of marketing for UK & Ireland Alan Hartwell.

Stokes joins two months after Alison Bournat quit the marketing communications role at Oracle to become UK marketing services manager at Microsoft (MW July 10). Microsoft’s UK marketing director Nick Barley left Oracle last summer from his position as vice-president and director of marketing (MW August 8, 2002).

Oracle launches its 10g software this month with a marketing drive that Hartwell says is its biggest single campaign yet.

Oracle hopes that 10g, the latest version of its flagship database, will allow it to regain leadership in the grid-computing sector from IBM.

Oracle’s marketing team has more than halved in number over the past four years during the technology sector’s slump. Its approach has been to align its marketing and sales operations more closely to allow the company better to market its products to its business customers.

Grey Worldwide handles Oracle’s creative account and MediaCom buys and plans its media.