Indian-origin Anil Chakravarthy named next CEO of Adobe

As design software giant Adobe navigates intensifying artificial intelligence competition, Indian-origin executive Anil Chakravarthy will succeed long-serving CEO Shantanu Narayen on December 1, following a structured board succession process.

Adobe has named enterprise software veteran Anil Chakravarthy as its incoming president and chief executive officer. Chakravarthy, who currently heads the company's Customer Experience Orchestration unit and global field operations, will step into the top post on December 1, 2026. 

The leadership change follows current CEO Shantanu Narayen's decision earlier this year to step down after an 18-year tenure. Narayen will move into the role of executive chair, partnering with Chakravarthy to manage the transition. 

The executive shift arrives at a crucial inflection point for the design software pioneer. Adobe faces a rapidly shifting digital landscape defined by agentic artificial intelligence systems and aggressive rivalry from emerging tech platforms, including design firm Canva and AI research laboratories such as OpenAI and Anthropic. 

Internal succession and leadership departures

The decision caps a comprehensive evaluation led by a special committee of Adobe’s board. "Anil is an experienced transformational leader who leads with values, integrity, and a deep knowledge of our business," Narayen said, adding that Chakravarthy possesses a proven record of building category-defining software for an AI-driven era. 

Chakravarthy’s selection brings closure to internal race dynamics. David Wadhwani, president of Adobe's digital media and creativity business, was widely considered the other top internal contender. Wadhwani is now exiting the company after a combined 15-year tenure across two periods to collaborate with leading venture capital firms, including Greylock and Lightspeed.

Scaling enterprise AI and global operations

Since joining Adobe in January 2020 as executive vice president of Digital Experience, Chakravarthy expanded his mandate to encompass global field operations. During his tenure, he drove key generative AI products to market, including Adobe GenStudio, CX Enterprise, and Brand Visibility, while guiding major enterprise acquisitions like Workfront and Semrush. 

Prior to Adobe, Chakravarthy served as chief executive officer of cloud data firm Informatica from 2015 to 2020, following earlier executive assignments at Symantec, VeriSign, and McKinsey & Company. He holds a computer science engineering degree from IIT Varanasi and earned his master's and doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

"I'm 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," Chakravarthy stated. Lead Independent Director Frank Calderoni affirmed that the board unanimously selected Chakravarthy to lead the company's next phase of growth.