Adobe has named Anil Chakravarthy as its next president and CEO, effective 1 December 2026. Current CEO Shantanu Narayen will become executive chair, completing a planned succession that puts a veteran enterprise software leader in charge of the company's artificial intelligence and customer experience strategy.
Chakravarthy currently serves as president of Adobe's Customer Experience Orchestration business and worldwide field operations. He joined the company in January 2020 and has since expanded his responsibilities across digital experience products, AI-powered offerings, and global enterprise sales.
A six-year ascent to the top role
Chakravarthy's path inside Adobe accelerated quickly. He arrived in January 2020 as executive vice president and general manager of the Digital Experience business. By September of that year, he had taken charge of worldwide field operations serving enterprise customers. Adobe promoted him to president of Digital Experience and worldwide field operations in December 2021.
During that period, Chakravarthy led the launch and expansion of several products central to Adobe's enterprise ambitions, including Adobe CX Enterprise, GenStudio, Brand Visibility, Adobe Experience Platform, and CX Enterprise Coworker. The company also credited him with driving the acquisitions and integration of Workfront and Semrush.
Frank Calderoni, Adobe's Lead Independent Director, said the board unanimously approved the appointment after a succession process overseen by a special committee. Calderoni described Chakravarthy as having expanded the company's customer experience business "through innovation-led growth while helping preserve the company's culture and values."
AI and agentic software at the center
The leadership handover arrives as Adobe competes to embed generative and agentic AI across its product lines. Chakravarthy signaled where he sees the next phase of growth. He said Adobe has significant opportunities in "the next era of agentic software spanning creativity, productivity and customer experience."
Narayen called Chakravarthy "a transformational leader with deep knowledge of the business and a strong track record of delivering category-defining products." The transition gives Adobe a CEO with direct experience building the AI-powered enterprise tools that now define the company's roadmap.
For executives tracking how AI reshapes leadership priorities at major software firms, the appointment reflects a broader pattern: companies are elevating leaders who have built and scaled AI products, not just managed existing portfolios. The AI Learning Path for CEOs addresses the strategic decisions that come with this shift.
Experience beyond San Jose
Before Adobe, Chakravarthy spent four years as CEO of Informatica, the cloud data management company. He joined Informatica in 2013 as executive vice president. His earlier career included senior roles at Symantec, VeriSign, and McKinsey & Company.
Chakravarthy holds a bachelor's degree in computer science and engineering from the Institute of Technology, Varanasi, and both a master's degree and PhD from MIT. That combination of deep technical training and operating experience across cybersecurity, data management, and consulting shaped a career that now places him among the most prominent Indian-origin executives in global software.
Why this matters for executives and strategy
Adobe's succession is not a routine changing of the guard. The company is betting that its next phase of growth depends on AI-native products built for enterprise workflows. Chakravarthy's appointment signals that product leaders who have shipped AI capabilities at scale are now moving into the CEO seat. For executives watching competitive dynamics in enterprise software, the transition provides a concrete case study in how boards are aligning leadership structure with AI strategy. More context on these shifts is available in the AI for Executives & Strategy resource collection.
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