Adobe names Anil Chakravarthy CEO as shares slide
Anil Chakravarthy will become Adobe’s CEO on Dec. 1; Shantanu Narayen will move to executive chair as the company faces a multi-year stock decline amid AI concerns.
Adobe said Anil Chakravarthy will become president and chief executive officer on Dec. 1 and will join the company’s board at that time. Shantanu Narayen, who has led Adobe for 18 years, will step into an executive chair role and remain to support the transition.
Chakravarthy most recently led Adobe’s customer experience orchestration unit and worldwide field operations. He joined Adobe nearly seven years ago after serving as chief executive of Informatica, an enterprise data management company that had partnered with Adobe.
Narayen, in a statement, called Chakravarthy an “experienced transformational leader who leads with values, integrity and a deep knowledge of our business.” Chakravarthy, in a 2021 interview, said he joined Adobe to work with Narayen and the company’s leadership team.
David Wadhwani announced he will leave Adobe after nearly five years leading the company’s creativity and productivity business. Wadhwani had been a senior executive involved in Adobe’s proposed acquisition of Figma, a deal that regulators required the companies to abandon in 2023.
Adobe’s shares have fallen over multiple years. The company reported a roughly 25% decline in 2024, about a 21% drop in 2025 and a further decline of approximately 18% so far in 2026. Shares fell about 2% in extended trading after the CEO announcement.
Investors and analysts say concerns about generative AI tools are affecting demand expectations for subscription software. Market participants are watching whether Adobe’s AI features can maintain product pricing and customer demand in the face of lower-cost alternatives.
The leadership change follows strategic challenges for Adobe, including regulatory scrutiny of platform deals and the need to integrate new AI capabilities across creative and marketing products. Narayen’s tenure included expanding Adobe’s software franchises and shifting the company to subscription-based cloud services.
Chakravarthy will assume full CEO responsibilities on Dec. 1 and will serve on Adobe’s board. The company did not provide a detailed roadmap for leadership priorities at the time of the announcement.
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