A close-up of a corporate sign attached to the concrete exterior wall of an Adobe office building on August 26, 2026 in Lehi, Utah, USA.
Charles McClintock Wilson | Null Photo | Getty Images
adobe On Thursday, the company named Anil Chakravarthy as its next president and CEO, replacing Shantanu Narayan, who announced his resignation earlier this year.
Chakravarthy, who most recently served as president of customer experience orchestration and worldwide field operations at Adobe, will take the helm starting December 1, the company announced. He will also join Adobe’s board of directors.
Mr. Narayan will become executive chairman and will work “closely” with Mr. Chakravarthy during the transition period, Adobe said. Narayan announced last March that he was stepping down from his role at Adobe after 18 years at the top, having joined the company in 1998.
“With Adobe’s track record of creating new market categories and world-class products, the future opportunities for Adobe are limitless,” Narayan said in a statement. “Anil is an experienced transformation leader who leads with values, integrity and deep knowledge of our business.”
Chakravarthy joined Adobe about seven years ago after serving as CEO of enterprise data management company Informatica. He told CNBC in a 2021 interview that he became connected to them through Adobe’s partnership with Narayan’s Informatica.
“A lot of the reason I came was because of the opportunity to work with him and the opportunity to collaborate with the Adobe leadership team,” Chakravarthy told CNBC at the time.
Adobe is naming a new CEO as the company’s stock plummets on investor concerns that artificial intelligence will be disruptive to software makers. After a boom in 2023, Adobe stock has since fallen, dropping 25% in 2024 and another 21% in 2025. The stock price is down 18% year to date in 2026.
Adobe stock fell about 2% in after-hours trading.
This news comes alongside the announcement that Adobe’s top executive, David Wadhwani, is leaving the company. Mr. Wadhwani has served as president of Adobe’s creativity and productivity business for nearly five years.
CNBC previously reported that Wadhwani was considered a strong candidate to become Adobe’s next CEO, in part because of his key role in the design software company’s acquisition plan. figma. The companies ultimately called off the deal in 2023, citing regulatory hurdles.
Wadhwani said in a LinkedIn post that he has several ideas for the company that he plans to “investigate and pressure test.”
“Adobe is important to me, and I have decided that now is the right time to start a new chapter for me. It is a great moment for Adobe to do what Anil did when he became CEO,” Wadhwani wrote. “I have had the privilege of working with Anil over the past few years, and I leave confident in where he will lead Adobe.”
