Adobe Names Anil Chakravarthy as CEO, Shantanu Narayen to Become Executive Chair

Adobe has appointed Anil Chakravarthy as its next President and Chief Executive Officer, with the leadership transition set to take effect on December 1, 2026. Current CEO Shantanu Narayen will become Executive Chair and work with Chakravarthy during the transition.

Chakravarthy, who currently leads Adobe’s Customer Experience Orchestration business and worldwide field operations, will also join Adobe’s Board of Directors when he becomes CEO.

“I could not be more confident that Anil is the right person to lead Adobe’s growth in an AI-driven era and look forward to working closely with him in my new role as executive chair,” Narayen said in a statement

Chakravarthy said he would focus on growth and Adobe’s position in agentic software across creativity, productivity and customer experience.

“I am deeply honoured to have been chosen to lead Adobe during this pivotal moment,” Chakravarthy said. “I’m energised by the opportunity to fuel growth and drive Adobe's leadership in the next era of agentic software for creativity, productivity and customer experience.”

Chakravarthy joined Adobe in January 2020 as Executive Vice President and General Manager of its Digital Experience business. Later that year, he also took responsibility for worldwide field operations serving enterprise customers across Adobe’s product portfolio. He became president of Digital Experience and worldwide field operations in December 2021.

During his tenure, Chakravarthy led Adobe’s expansion in Customer Experience Orchestration, including the development of products such as Adobe CX Enterprise, GenStudio and Brand Visibility. He also oversaw the scaling of Adobe Experience Platform and the introduction of CX Enterprise Coworker.

Chakravarthy was also involved in Adobe’s acquisitions and integration of Workfront and Semrush.

Before joining Adobe, Chakravarthy served as CEO of Informatica for four years. He joined the company in 2013 as an executive vice president and previously held executive roles at Symantec and VeriSign, along with a role at McKinsey & Company.

Chakravarthy holds a Bachelor of Technology in Computer Science and Engineering from the Institute of Technology, Varanasi, and a master's degree and PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Narayen has led Adobe since December 2007, overseeing the company’s shift toward a subscription-based business model and its expansion into digital experience and AI-powered products. As Executive Chair, he will continue working with the company and Chakravarthy after the transition.