Adobe announced on September 3 that Anil Chakravarthy will become president and chief executive officer effective December 1, 2026, succeeding Shantanu Narayen, who will transition to executive chair after 18 years leading the design software company.
Chakravarthy, currently president of Adobe’s Customer Experience Orchestration business and worldwide field operations, has been with Adobe since January 2020. Over his tenure, he has led the development of market-leading products including Adobe CX Enterprise, GenStudio and Brand Visibility, and has been instrumental in scaling Adobe Experience Platform and championing acquisitions including Workfront and Semrush.
In a statement, Narayen said he could not be “more confident that Anil is the right person to lead Adobe’s growth in an AI-driven era” and that he would work closely with Chakravarthy in his new role as executive chair to ensure a smooth transition. Chakravarthy said he was “deeply honored” and “energized by the opportunity to fuel growth and drive Adobe’s leadership in the next era of agentic software for creativity, productivity and customer experience.”
The announcement sparked a swift market reaction. Adobe shares fell about 6 to 7 percent on the day the company announced the CEO transition, according to multiple reports. The decline reflected investor disappointment that Adobe’s board had chosen an internal candidate rather than an outsider to lead the company through its AI transformation.
Adobe’s stock has already faced pressure this year, declining approximately 18 percent during 2026 after falling more than 21 percent in 2025, as investors have raised concerns about the company’s ability to capitalize on artificial intelligence opportunities. The selection of Chakravarthy, an insider focused on the enterprise customer experience business, suggested the board favored continuity over a dramatic strategic shift, a decision that some analysts said did not align with market expectations.
Narayen’s departure announcement came in March 2026, when he told the board he would step down once a successor was appointed. The board conducted what it described as a “rigorous selection process” to identify his replacement. Frank Calderoni, lead independent director of Adobe, said the board “unanimously determined that Anil is the right leader for Adobe’s next chapter of growth,” citing his track record of transforming and expanding the customer experience business over six and a half years.
Chakravarthy brings three decades of technology experience. Before joining Adobe, he served as CEO for four years at Informatica, a global leader in enterprise cloud data management. He originally joined Informatica in 2013 as executive vice president. Earlier in his career, he held executive roles at Symantec, VeriSign and McKinsey & Company. He holds a Bachelor of Technology in Computer Science and Engineering from the Institute of Technology, Varanasi, India, and both a Master of Science and Ph.D from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The CEO transition comes as Adobe prepares to report third-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings on September 10. Investors will likely focus on how the company plans to address concerns about AI disruption and maintain its market leadership amid competition from other software makers racing to integrate artificial intelligence into their products.
Sources
- Adobe Newsroom — Official announcement of Chakravarthy’s appointment as CEO effective December 1, 2026, and Narayen’s transition to executive chair, with biographical details and quotes from Narayen, Calderoni and Chakravarthy
- CNBC — Confirmation of the CEO announcement and Narayen’s departure announcement from March 2026
- Reuters — Coverage of the CEO transition and market context
- Yahoo Finance — Stock price decline data (6-7%) following the announcement and 2026 year-to-date performance (-18%)
- MarketWatch — Analyst commentary on investor disappointment with insider selection and market expectations for an outsider CEO
- Investopedia — Context on Adobe stock decline and investor concerns about AI disruption
- Kavout — Analysis of market sell-off signaling investor disappointment with internal CEO pick
