Nowadays, Greg is not viewed as a good CFO in Microsoft finance community.

Though Mr. Maffei won't directly head strategy or acquisitions, the appointment is likely to be seen as a signal that Oracle's recent buying spree is far from over: Mr. Maffei was behind Microsoft's investments of $5 billion in AT&T Corp. and $1 billion in Comcast Corp., among many other deals. At Seattle-based 360Networks, despite financial pressures from the telecom meltdown that helped trigger a Chapter 11 bankruptcy-protection filing in 2001, he drove an aggressive consolidation of fiber-optic routes in the Western U.S.

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Mr. Maffei has dealt with big egos, having matched wits with the two other best-known software titans, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and CEO Steve Ballmer. At Microsoft, Mr. Maffei built a strong relationship with Mr. Gates. They worked closely together to expand into new businesses including cable TV and telecommunications.

In 1999, Mr. Maffei's last year at Microsoft, the company made 90 investments or acquisitions for a total of $10 billion. Some of those deals have failed to bear fruit so far, and Mr. Ballmer has taken a more conservative approach toward acquisitions.