Adobe names Anil Chakravarthy as CEO in leadership shift
Adobe has named Anil Chakravarthy as its next president and CEO, effective December 1, 2026, succeeding Shantanu Narayen after 18 years at the helm. Narayen will become executive chair. This technology news arrives as Adobe faces investor worries that AI will disrupt traditional software businesses.
Adobe's Board of Directors announced the change on September 3, 2026. Chakravarthy will also join the board when he takes the top job. For more coverage of AI-era software shifts, see our Future Tech & AI Wonders hub.
Key Takeaways
- Anil Chakravarthy becomes Adobe president and CEO on December 1, 2026, and joins the board.
- Shantanu Narayen moves to executive chair after 18 years as CEO and will help lead the transition.
- Chakravarthy currently runs Customer Experience Orchestration and worldwide field operations.
- Shares slipped about 2% in extended trading as investors weighed AI disruption risks.
- Creativity and productivity president David Wadhwani said he will leave Adobe.
Who is Anil Chakravarthy and what will change?
Chakravarthy is president of Adobe's Customer Experience Orchestration business and worldwide field operations. He joined Adobe in January 2020 as executive vice president and general manager of Digital Experience, later adding field operations for enterprise customers across Adobe's full portfolio.
He was promoted to president of Digital Experience and worldwide field operations in December 2021. Under his leadership, Adobe has pushed AI-powered offerings including Adobe CX Enterprise, GenStudio, and Brand Visibility, and scaled Adobe Experience Platform.
Before Adobe, he spent four years as CEO of Informatica after joining that company in 2013. Earlier roles included executive posts at Symantec, VeriSign, and McKinsey & Company. He holds a bachelor's degree from the Institute of Technology, Varanasi, and master's and Ph.D. degrees from MIT.
Why is Adobe changing CEOs now?
Narayen said last March he would step down after joining Adobe in 1998 and leading as CEO for 18 years. Lead Independent Director Frank Calderoni, who chaired the special committee on the search, said the board unanimously chose Chakravarthy after a rigorous process.
In Adobe's official announcement, Narayen called Chakravarthy an experienced transformational leader with deep knowledge of the business. Chakravarthy said he aims to drive Adobe's leadership in "the next era of agentic software" for creativity, productivity, and customer experience.
The handover comes as Adobe's stock has fallen with other software names on fears that generative AI will upend established vendors. According to CNBC, Adobe shares lost 25% in 2024, 21% in 2025, and are down 18% so far in 2026 after a boom year in 2023.
How did markets and other executives react?
CNBC reported Adobe shares fell about 2% in extended trading after the succession news. That reaction reflects ongoing pressure on creative and enterprise software stocks tied to AI disruption narratives.
Alongside the CEO appointment, David Wadhwani — president of Adobe's creativity and productivity business for nearly five years — announced he will exit. CNBC previously noted he had been viewed as a strong internal CEO contender, partly for his role in Adobe's later-abandoned bid to acquire Figma in 2023.
Wadhwani wrote on LinkedIn that he plans to explore company ideas and said he leaves confident in Chakravarthy's direction. Adobe is scheduled to host its Q3 FY2026 earnings call on September 10, 2026, where investors may press for more detail on strategy under the new leadership pair.