Amid deep skepticism about Adobe’s ability to thrive in the AI era, the company’s Chief Executive Officer Shantanu Narayen will reportedly resign from his position atop the creative software giant. Adobe said in its statement that Narayen will remain in the position until a successor has been appointed. The 62-year-old will stay on as board chairman. The maker of Photoshop and other products for creative arts professionals is among a group of application software companies, seen as struggling to win new customers in the face of AI upstarts.
Post the announcement, Adobe’s shares fell about 7 per cent in extended trading after closing at $269.78 in New York. The stock has declined about 23 per cent in 2026, putting it near its lowest level in three years.
Adobe has integrated artificial intelligence tools across its creative and marketing software, while also developing its own AI models designed to generate images without copyright risks, in a bid to maintain its large market share.
During his tenure, Narayen oversaw a period of huge growth at the company. Adobe’s annual revenue has multiplied almost six times to about $24 billion since he took over at the end of 2007, and the workforce has grown from about 7,000 to more than 30,000. He is often credited with steering one of the first successful transitions in software to a business model in which customers bought recurring subscriptions to bundles of products, rather than one-time purchases of individual applications.
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