In this special blog post, we remember the life of Oracle’s Jon Chorley, former chief sustainability officer and senior vice president of supply chain & manufacturing product strategy, who passed away on May 9, 2025.
Jon Chorley began his career in the technology and supply chain sectors in the early 1990s. Previously, Jon worked at IBM, selling and deploying systems and
application software. He was also a principal at Modular Systems, a consulting company specializing in supply chain applications for midsize companies.
Jon joined Oracle in 1997, where he played a pivotal role in shaping the company’s supply chain management (SCM) applications. As Senior Vice President of SCM, Jon was instrumental in the development of Oracle’s supply chain logistics applications. His leadership extended to overseeing Oracle’s product strategy for SCM, including areas such as product lifecycle management, transportation and logistics, manufacturing, asset lifecycle management, value chain planning, and order fulfillment.
Jon’s deep understanding of supply chain dynamics and commitment to sustainability led to his appointment as Oracle’s first Chief Sustainability Officer in 2011. In this role, he spearheaded initiatives aimed at reducing Oracle’s environmental impact and integrating sustainability into the company’s operations and product offerings.
In his dual role as CSO and Senior Vice President of Supply Chain & Manufacturing Product Strategy, Jon focused on Oracle’s environmental footprint as well as product development to help our customers achieve their own sustainability goals. Jon was instrumental in building Oracle’s corporate sustainability program with Elena Avesani, vice president of Oracle sustainability strategy and technology innovation. Today, all Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) data centers in Europe and Latin America are supported by renewable energy and nearly 90% of all OCI global energy use was renewable in 2023. With an impressive product lifecycle management strategy, Oracle not only designs and manufactures products sustainably, but we also recycle or reuse more than 99% of all processed hardware. Since the corporate sustainability program’s inception under Jon’s leadership, Oracle has reduced waste and water usage, minimized employee air travel emissions, and ensured that our suppliers have environmental programs in place.
Reflecting on nearly two decades of mentorship and friendship, Elena shared her thoughts on having Jon as a mentor. “Jon was truly a Renaissance man. An avid reader, he was fascinated by every aspect of the human experience, such as history, winemaking, technology, and woodcarving. His bold thinking allowed him to anticipate the intersection of technology and sustainability long before it was widely recognized. It was this vision that laid the foundation for Oracle’s sustainability program back in 2008. Having Jon as a mentor and teacher over the past 18 years has been a privilege I will always cherish. He lived an extraordinary life and will be deeply missed.”
“Sustainability was more than an intense conviction for Jon, it was a calling,” said Colleen Cassity, vice president of Oracle social impact and executive director of the Oracle Education Foundation. “If you knew him, you knew that. But what I will always remember most about Jon is a certain élan—an assured vigor and liveliness in the way he spoke about his favorite subject—and how contagious that was in the very best sense.”
In a 2020 interview for this blog, Jon emphasized the importance of fostering a culture of sustainability within a company through engagement, transparent communications about goals and progress, sharing ideas, and driving initiatives to improve the communities where we live and work.
Jon led with integrity and humility, guided by his principled belief that we could make the world a better place through technological innovation. As Chris Leone, executive vice president of Oracle Fusion HCM and SCM development, states, “Jon was a visionary leader who believed that technology, when driven by purpose, could transform lives and improve the world around us. His unwavering commitment to innovation wasn’t just about progress; it was about creating meaningful change for customers, empowering communities, and building a more sustainable world for generations to come.”
As a leader and mentor for almost 30 years, Jon left a lasting impression on everyone he interacted with at Oracle. Derek Gittoes, vice president of Oracle SCM product strategy, reflected on the legacy that Jon leaves behind through his remarkable career with the company. “Beyond his many contributions to the Oracle Supply Chain Management product suite and Oracle’s sustainability initiatives, and I would say of even greater importance, has been Jon’s support of the people around him,” he said. “His mentorship, empathy, kindness, trustworthiness—in other words, his leadership—had a profound impact on the careers and lives of many. That’s the real legacy.”
We are deeply grateful for Jon’s wisdom, leadership, and unwavering commitment to improving the world around us. As we honor his legacy, we remain deeply committed to advancing the work he began here so many years ago, guided by the same passion and purpose that defined his vision.