Oracle Corp. Executive Chairman Larry Ellison said the software giant won’t hire a second chief executive officer to run the business alongside CEO Safra Catz, deciding not to replace the late Mark Hurd.

“We have no plans for having a second CEO,” Ellison said Thursday during a conference call with analysts. He pointed to the company’s second-tier of executives, who are being groomed for future leadership. “Those people will be the next CEO when Safra and I retire, which will be no time soon.”

Bloomberg News reported in November that Oracle decided to hold off on naming a direct successor to Hurd and was instead focusing on grooming its leaders who are now running business divisions. Hurd had been CEO with Catz for five years before his death in October.