Adobe Appoints Anil Chakravarthy as CEO to Lead AI-Driven Growth After 20% Stock Decline

Will Adobe's New CEO Be Able to Pull the Stock Out of Its Slump?

Get personalized, AI-powered answers built on 27+ years of trusted expertise. After a yearslong slump for Adobe's stock, can a new CEO drive a comeback? The creative software giant late yesterday named Anil Chakravarthy its new CEO starting in December, ending months of speculation about who would succeed Shantanu Narayen after his plan to step down was announced back in March. The initial response from investors isn't encouraging. Adobe shares, which coming into today's session had lost roughly 20% of their value since the start of the year, were down 4% in premarket trading Friday. Chakravarthy, who's been at Adobe (ADBE) for six and a half years and currently leads the company's customer experience unit, is "not who many expected," according to analysts at Jefferies. They thought the job would go to 19-year veteran and creative unit head David Wadhwani, who left shortly after the announcement. "With his departure, we expect others to follow as Anil reshapes the organization," the Jefferies analysts wrote. "With Adobe facing significant headwinds from AI, we expect the board of directors may also see changes to onboard deeper AI expertise." Given Chakravarthy's background, Jefferies suggested he could be "well tuned to the needs of Adobe's large enterprise clients," and said they look forward to "hearing his views on running the creative side of the business and transforming it for the new age of AI." Narayen said in a release that he "could not be more confident" that Chakravarthy is "the right person to lead Adobe's growth in an AI-driven era." Narayen will become executive chair and work closely with Chakravarthy through the transition, the company said. Adobe highlighted Chakravarthy's role in leading the development of several "category-defining products using the power of AI to deliver breakthrough customer experiences," including Adobe CX Enterprise, GenStudio and Brand Visibility. "In aggregate, we believe the announcement is a positive in relation to addressing the uncertainty," JPMorgan analysts told clients, while investors watch for Chakravarthy's next moves. Investors are set to get an update on the company's financial results after the closing bell next Thursday.

Chakravarthy to Log into Adobe as Next President & CEO

Adobe has named Indian-origin Anil Chakravarthy as its next president and CEO. He will succeed long-time chief Shantanu Narayen, who led the software giant for 18 years. Set to take charge from December 1, Chakravarthy joins the ranks of prominent Indian executives at the helm of global technology majors including Microsoft's Satya Nadella, Google parent Alphabet's Sundar Pichai, Arvind Krishna of IBM, Nikesh Arora of Palo Alto Networks, and YouTube's Neal Mohan. Chakravarthy had been president of Adobe's customer experience orchestration business and worldwide field operations, having joined the company in January 2020 from global enterprise cloud data management firm Informatica. Meanwhile, Narayen will transition to executive chairperson in December, the company said in a statement. Earlier this year, Adobe had announced plans for Narayen to step down once a successor was named. He has focused on leveraging AI to drive the $113 billion company's comprehensive enterprise software offerings, by leading development on interconnected, agentic AI platforms such as Adobe CX Enterprise, GenStudio and Brand Visibility, Adobe said. He has been instrumental in scaling Adobe Experience Platform and the introduction of new product innovations like CX Enterprise Coworker, the company said. He also led the acquisition and integration of enterprise software platforms Workfront and Semrush. India has emerged as a critical innovation hub for Adobe, with nearly a third of the US company's global innovation, including newer Firefly AI capabilities currently powered by teams based in the country, Adobe executives told ET in April. The company has around 8,000 employees in India. Globally, it owns flagship products such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro and InDesign. The company has pivoted toward AI-led products even as the stock price has slipped since 2024 owing to mounting fears of AI disrupting the software business. Continued vulnerability from major tech changes led to the stock price reducing 23% and 20.6% in 2024 and 2025, respectively. In 2026, shares have fallen 18.6% till date even as the company reported a 11% growth in revenue to $6.62 billion and adjusted earnings per share of $5.96 in the second quarter of 2026. At its annual summit in Las Vegas in April, the company sealed extensive agentic AI partnerships with technology giants. This included Adobe's marketing intelligence directly being integrated into Microsoft 365 workflows, and Google's advanced AI models being integrated directly into Adobe's creative tools like Firefly, Photoshop, Adobe Express, and Premiere Pro. The company is also collaborating with OpenAI to test ads in ChatGPT besides introducing Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Express, and Acrobat Apps for ChatGPT to the platform's 800 million weekly users, Adobe executives have said. Top Job Chakravarthy serving as president of Adobe's customer experience orchestration biz & worldwide field ops Joined co in Jan 2020 after leading global enterprise cloud data mgmt firm Informatica for 4 yrs Former tech exec at Symantec, VeriSign and McKinsey & Company Education BTech in Computer Science & Engg, IIT, Varanasi Masters of Science & PhD from MIT Continued vulnerability changes led to the stock price reducing 23% and 20.6% in 2024 (This story has not been edited by economictimes.com and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed we subscribe to.)

Adobe Taps Insider Anil Chakravarthy to Lead Its High-Stakes AI Push - Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE)

Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) said Thursday that Anil Chakravarthy will become president and CEO, effective Dec. 1. Longtime CEO Shantanu Narayen will transition to executive chair. Chakravarthy, who will also join Adobe's board, currently leads the company's Customer Experience Orchestration business and worldwide field operations. Narayen will work with him during the transition as Adobe expands its focus on artificial intelligence. Adobe Prepares for AI-Driven Era Adobe's board unanimously selected Chakravarthy after what lead independent director Frank Calderoni called a "rigorous selection process." Narayen said Chakravarthy has the experience and knowledge needed to lead Adobe in an AI-driven era. Meanwhile, Chakravarthy said he plans to drive growth in agentic software across creativity, productivity and customer experience. Trending Chakravarthy joined Adobe in January 2020 to lead its Digital Experience business. He later took responsibility for worldwide field operations and became president of Digital Experience in December 2021. During his tenure, Chakravarthy helped expand Adobe's customer experience business. He also led products including Adobe CX Enterprise, GenStudio and Brand Visibility. In addition, he supported the acquisitions and integration of Workfront and Semrush. Before joining Adobe, Chakravarthy served as CEO of Informatica for four years. He previously held executive roles at Symantec and VeriSign and worked at McKinsey & Co. Earnings Ahead Adobe stock fell in Friday's premarket trading as investors looked ahead to the company's Sept. 10 earnings report. Wall Street expects Adobe to report earnings of $5.84 per share on revenue of $6.70 billion, up from $5.31 and $5.99 billion, respectively, a year earlier. With the report six days away, traders may be reluctant to make large bets before getting a clearer view of the company's growth and outlook. As a result, technical levels could play a bigger role in near-term trading. Adobe remains above several key moving averages. The stock is about 0.2% above its 20-day simple moving average of $274.05 and 2.4% above its 200-day SMA of $268.23. It also trades about 11% above its 50-day SMA and 12.8% above its 100-day SMA. That suggests the stock has made a strong recovery, although it could consolidate after those gains. Momentum has weakened. The MACD is below its signal line, while the histogram is negative. That indicates buying momentum has cooled. The moving-average setup also remains mixed. The 20-day SMA is above the 50-day SMA, which supports the short-term trend. However, the 50-day SMA remains below the 200-day SMA, signaling longer-term resistance. Resistance sits near $275.50, while support is around $251. Analyst Outlook Adobe carries a Hold consensus rating with an average price forecast of $268.55. Barclays raised its price forecast to $295 and maintained an Equal-Weight rating Thursday. RBC Capital raised its forecast to $315 with an Outperform rating Wednesday. Citigroup lifted its forecast to $301 while maintaining a Neutral rating Tuesday. Price Action Adobe shares fell 3.30% to $276.31 in Friday's premarket trading, according to Benzinga Pro data. Photo via Shutterstock Markets Jim Cramer Warns Google's New AI Tool: 'Could Be Tough for Adobe' Jim Cramer warns Google Pics could pressure Adobe as Google launches its AI-powered image creation and editing tool. 2 min read Read this article Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs To add Benzinga News as your preferred source on Google, click here.

From IIT Varanasi to Silicon Valley peak: Who is Adobe's newly appointed CEO Anil Chakravarthy?

Adobe has appointed Anil Chakravarthy as its new CEO, succeeding Shantanu Narayen, who will become executive chair after more than 18 years at the helm. Chakravarthy will take over on December 1. Adobe has named Anil Chakravarthy as its new president and chief executive officer (CEO), succeeding Shantanu Narayen, who led the company for more than 18 years. In an announcement on Thursday, the American multinational software company said Chakravarthy will assume the new role on December 1 and Narayen will transition to the role of executive chair. "I could not be more confident that Anil is the right person to lead Adobe's growth in an AI-driven era, and I look forward to working closely with him in my new role as executive chair," Narayen said in a statement. ALSO READ | Adobe hands CEO job to Anil Chakravarthy in a bid to steer under-pressure software business amid AI competition David Wadhwani, the president of Adobe's Creativity and Productivity Business and a contender for the top post, announced his departure from the company after a five-year stint. "As much as Adobe means to me, I've decided this is the right moment for me to start a new chapter, and it's a great moment for Adobe to do the same as Anil steps into the CEO role," Wadhwani said in a LinkedIn post. Anil Chakravarthy: An IIT alumnus An alumnus of Banaras Hindu University, Chakravarthy is the president of Adobe's Customer Experience Orchestration business and worldwide field operations. Chakravarthy joined Adobe in January 2020 as executive vice president and general manager leading the company's Digital Experience business. In September 2020, he took on the additional responsibility of leading the company's worldwide field operations, serving enterprise customers across Adobe's full portfolio of products, including creativity and productivity. In December 2021, he was promoted to president of Digital Experience and worldwide field operations. Before his current role, Chakravarthy 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. Before joining Informatica, Chakravarthy acquired broad experience in the technology industry through executive roles at Symantec, VeriSign and McKinsey & Company. Chakravarthy received a Bachelor of Technology in Computer Science and Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (Banaras Hindu University), Varanasi, and a Master of Science and Ph.D from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "Honoured and incredibly excited for what's ahead at Adobe. Our customers, employees (best in the world!) and AI innovation are top of mind, as always. Deep gratitude to our Chair & CEO, Shantanu Narayen, and the Adobe Board of Directors for their trust in me. Adobe's best days are ahead," Chakravarthy said in a post on LinkedIn. Indians at the top in Silicon Valley Chakravarthy now joins a growing list of Indian-origin executives at the helm of some of the world's biggest technology companies. Earlier this year, CRED founder Kunal Shah was named global head of WhatsApp, while Indian-origin executive Asha Sharma took over as CEO of Microsoft Gaming, succeeding Phil Spencer. Rahul Patil also joined AI company Anthropic as chief technology officer last October. The list has grown steadily in recent years. In 2023, Neal Mohan became CEO of YouTube, while Ravi Kumar S took over as CEO of Cognizant. At the top of this club are Sundar Pichai and Satya Nadella, who lead Google-parent Alphabet and Microsoft, respectively. Pichai became Google CEO in 2015 and took over as Alphabet CEO in 2019. Nadella has led Microsoft since 2014 and is widely credited with reshaping the company by putting cloud computing and AI at the centre of its growth strategy. They are joined by other veteran Indian-origin leaders, including Shantanu Narayen, who has headed Adobe since 2007, and IBM CEO Arvind Krishna. Krishna has spent 35 years at the company and has played a key role in steering several major transformations during his tenure.

Adobe Elevates Anil Chakravarthy to CEO Role, Shantanu Narayen to Become Executive Chair

Adobe's opportunity ahead is limitless with our track record in creating new market categories and world-class products. Anil is an experienced transformational leader who leads with values, integrity and a deep knowledge of our business. Adobe announced that Anil Chakravarthy, president of Adobe's Customer Experience Orchestration business and worldwide field operations, will become Adobe's next president and chief executive officer and join the Board of Directors effective December 1, 2026. Shantanu Narayen will transition to executive chair and work closely with Chakravarthy to ensure a smooth transition and support Adobe's ongoing transformation. "Adobe's opportunity ahead is limitless with our track record in creating new market categories and world-class products. Anil is an experienced transformational leader who leads with values, integrity and a deep knowledge of our business. He has a proven record of building and delivering category-defining products that serve our broad range of customers," said Narayen. "I could not be more confident that Anil is the right person to lead Adobe's growth in an AI-driven era and look forward to working closely with him in my new role as executive chair." Frank Calderoni, Lead Independent Director of Adobe, who led the special committee overseeing the selection process said, "The Board has unanimously determined that Anil is the right leader for Adobe's next chapter of growth. Over the last six and a half years, he has transformed and expanded Adobe's Customer Experience Orchestration business and worldwide field operations through innovation-led growth, developing and retaining talent and carrying forward Adobe's culture and values. We conducted a rigorous selection process resulting in the appointment of an outstanding CEO." Chakravarthy said, "I am deeply honored to have been chosen to lead Adobe during this pivotal moment. 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. Adobe has a history of building the future -- not just through our technology, but through our people and our commitment to customers. Thanks to Shantanu's exceptional leadership in transforming Adobe's business model over the decades, we are well positioned to achieve Adobe's next chapter of growth. I want to thank the Board for the confidence they've placed in me. I look forward to working closely with our employees, Shantanu and the Board of Directors to continue serving our customers and transforming Adobe in the era of AI." Chakravarthy joined Adobe in January 2020 as executive vice president and general manager leading the Digital Experience business. In September 2020, he took on the additional responsibility of leading Adobe's worldwide field operations serving enterprise customers with the full portfolio of Adobe's products including creativity and productivity. In December 2021, he was promoted to president of Digital Experience and worldwide field operations. Under Chakravarthy's leadership, Adobe has become an industry leader in Customer Experience Orchestration solutions. He has led the development of market-leading products including Adobe CX Enterprise, GenStudio and Brand Visibility, which are category-defining products using the power of AI to deliver breakthrough customer experiences. He has been instrumental in scaling Adobe Experience Platform and the introduction of new product innovations like CX Enterprise Coworker. He successfully championed the acquisitions and integration of Workfront and Semrush. Prior to his current role, Chakravarthy 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. Before joining Informatica, Chakravarthy acquired broad experience in the technology industry through executive roles at Symantec, VeriSign and McKinsey & Company. Chakravarthy received a Bachelor of Technology in Computer Science and Engineering from the Institute of Technology, Varanasi, India and a Masters of Science and Ph.D from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Adobe Q3 FY2026 Earnings Call, September 10 Adobe looks forward to hosting its Q3 FY2026 Earnings call on Thursday, September 10. The conference call will be streamed lived on the Adobe Investor Relations Site. Following the call, a recording and related materials will be available on the site.

Adobe ends an 18-year era as AI pressure mounts

Adobe is handing over control to a new CEO after the current CEO spent 18 years in the role, as artificial intelligence is set to disrupt the software company that powers Photoshop and Creative Cloud. Adobe (ADBE) is undergoing one of its largest leadership overhauls ever at a particularly challenging time for investors. Anil Chakravarthy will become president and CEO of software giant Adobe, succeeding Shantanu Narayen, who has been at the helm for more than 18 years. Chakravarthy will take over on Dec. 1, and Narayen will move to the role of executive chair. But Wall Street's response hinted at the scale of the task confronting Adobe's new boss. Adobe shares fell nearly 7% on Sept. 4, after the leadership announcement and David Wadhwani's departure. Wadhwani ran Adobe's creativity and productivity business and was a potential CEO candidate. After falling more than 21% in 2025, the stock had fallen 18% in 2026 before Friday Sept 4. But the greater issue is that generative AI is coming for the industry that Adobe has controlled for decades, and investors are waiting for proof that Adobe can transform its own AI technologies into enough growth to secure its business. Adobe's leadership shakeup comes at a critical moment Chakravarthy joined Adobe in 2020 after serving as CEO of Informatica. He oversaw Adobe's Digital Experience business first, then ran international field operations and finally led its Customer Experience Orchestration business. That background might be a key hint as to where Adobe is headed. Adobe says it's using agentic AI more in its corporate solutions to tailor interactions enterprises have with their consumers. Narayen described Chakravarthy as a "transformational leader" with profound knowledge of Adobe's business. But the succession also heralds another big shift. Wadhwani, who has overseen Adobe's creative and productivity division for almost five years, said he was stepping down after Chakravarthy's appointment. Wadhwani was said to be a possible contender for the CEO role. So Adobe is not just replacing the CEO. The corporation is also facing what may be the largest technical challenge to its creative-software brand since cloud computing emerged. Now investors have to decide whether Chakravarthy can take that disruption and reshape it once again. NurPhoto / Getty Images Wall Street sees a major AI threat to Adobe Adobe's main challenge is that it lacks artificial intelligence. The business has been working hard to grow Firefly and add generative AI capabilities to products like Photoshop and its larger creative suite. The question is whether AI is changing the economics of creative software quicker than Adobe can commercialize those goods. Morgan Stanley downgraded Adobe to Underweight from Equalweight in July and slashed its price target to $240 from $365. The firm cited several simultaneous transitions, including Adobe's freemium strategy, leadership changes, and increased AI investment. More fundamentally, Morgan Stanley questioned the vulnerability of Creative Cloud's recurring income to being replaced by generative AI. This is the heart of Adobe's problem. AI technologies are democratizing the ability to create complex images and video that previously required specific technical skills, which took time and practice to master. Adobe is also competing with firms like Canva and Figma, and newer generative AI platforms are transforming the way people create digital material. Other experts are less gloomy. Barclays recently raised its Adobe price target to $295 from $250 while maintaining an Equalweight rating, while RBC Capital increased its target to $315 from $285 and maintained an Outperform rating. The fight reveals exactly how challenging it has become for Wall Street to value Adobe. Adobe's new CEO inherits an AI problem worth billions The shift in leadership at Adobe comes only days before another big test. Adobe's fiscal third-quarter earnings release is due Sept. 10, providing investors their first big chance since the CEO announcement to gauge Adobe's financial performance and its AI strategy. The leadership announcement itself came as Adobe confirmed the date for results. Adobe isn't going into that report empty-handed. Reuters reported that the business upgraded its annual profit prediction in June due to rising demand for its AI-powered goods. But investors want more than that. They want proof that standard artificial intelligence can protect -- and ultimately accelerate, the steady income stream Adobe has created with products such as Photoshop, Illustrator, and Creative Cloud. The nomination of Chakravarthy is significant beyond an executive shift. Narayen helped turn Adobe from a packaged software company into a cloud subscription juggernaut. So now Chakravarthy inherits a new transformation: the challenge of showing Adobe can still be vital when generative AI makes it much simpler to create professional-looking content. The decline in the stock implies investors aren't convinced yet. And after two years of significant share-price loss, Adobe's new CEO doesn't have the luxury of looking at AI as just another product cycle. He's taking over a debate over whether one of software's best brands can stay just as valuable in an AI-first society. The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc. This story was originally published September 6, 2026 at 12:13 PM.

Adobe Names Anil Chakravarthy as Chief Executive Amid AI Transformation

Adobe said its new chief executive will be Anil Chakravarthy, who has led the company's customer experience arm for the past six years. Chakravarthy will step in on Dec. 1, succeeding Shantanu Narayen, who disclosed his plans in March to step down after nearly two decades. Chakravarthy has led the development of several of Adobe's AI products as the company has raced to keep up with how agents are changing the software industry. He said Thursday that he looked forward to transforming Adobe in the era of AI. "I could not be more confident that Anil is the right person to lead Adobe's growth in an AI-driven era," Narayen said. Chakravarthy led development of the generative AI platform GenStudio, as well as Adobe CX Enterprise, which uses AI agents to run marketing campaigns. He joined the software company in January 2020 as executive vice president and general manager leading the digital experience business. Later that year, he took over leadership of Adobe's worldwide field operations serving enterprise customers. At the end of 2021, he was promoted to president of digital experience and worldwide field operations. Before coming to Adobe, Chakravarthy spent four years as chief executive of Informatica, the cloud-data firm that was acquired last year by Salesforce in an $8 billion deal. Chakravarthy will work closely with Narayen, who is transitioning to executive chair, Adobe said. Narayen, who joined the company in 1998, said in March that he would stay involved with the company and help choose his successor.