San Jose, Calif., September 4, 2026 (XOL Africa) — Adobe has named Anil Chakravarthy as its next president and chief executive, handing the leadership of the software group to a longtime executive as it seeks to accelerate its push into artificial intelligence.
Chakravarthy, currently president of Adobe’s Customer Experience Orchestration business and worldwide field operations, will become chief executive and join the company’s board on December 1.
Shantanu Narayen, who has led Adobe for more than two decades, will become executive chair and work with Chakravarthy during the transition.
“Adobe’s opportunity ahead is limitless with our track record in creating new market categories and world-class products,” Narayen said. He described Chakravarthy as an “experienced transformational leader” with deep knowledge of the company and said he was confident he was the right person to lead Adobe “in an AI-driven era”.
The succession comes at an important point for Adobe, whose traditional creative software franchises are being reshaped by generative and agentic AI. The company is seeking to incorporate AI into products used by creative professionals, businesses and marketers while defending its position against a growing field of technology competitors.
Chakravarthy said he was “deeply honored” to have been chosen to lead Adobe and highlighted the opportunity to expand the company’s role 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,” he said.
An insider with enterprise software experience
Chakravarthy joined Adobe in 2020 as executive vice-president and general manager of its Digital Experience business. Later that year he also assumed responsibility for worldwide field operations serving enterprise customers across Adobe’s product portfolio.
He became president of Digital Experience and worldwide field operations in December 2021.
During his tenure, Adobe expanded its customer-experience software, including products such as Adobe CX Enterprise, GenStudio and Brand Visibility. Chakravarthy also oversaw the scaling of Adobe Experience Platform and backed the acquisitions and integration of Workfront and Semrush.
Before joining Adobe, Chakravarthy was chief executive of Informatica for four years, having joined the enterprise data-management company in 2013. Earlier in his career he held senior positions at Symantec and VeriSign and worked at McKinsey & Company.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science and engineering from the Institute of Technology, Varanasi, and master’s and doctoral degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Frank Calderoni, Adobe’s lead independent director, said the board had unanimously concluded that Chakravarthy was the appropriate leader for the company’s next phase.
“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,” Calderoni said.
The board’s decision comes as investors scrutinise how established software companies will adapt their business models to AI. Adobe has been investing heavily in AI capabilities while attempting to demonstrate that new tools can strengthen, rather than undermine, the value of its subscription-based software ecosystem.
Narayen’s move to executive chair means he will remain closely involved with the company after stepping down as chief executive. Chakravarthy is expected to take operational control from December.
Adobe is due to report third-quarter fiscal 2026 results on September 10. The earnings call will provide investors with a closely watched update on the company’s performance and its progress in commercialising AI-powered products.
The leadership change marks the end of one of the longest-running chief executive tenures in Silicon Valley and the beginning of a new phase for Adobe, with Chakravarthy taking charge as AI increasingly reshapes the markets in which the company operates.
SUPPORT AFRICAN BUSINESS JOURNALISM
Help XOL Africa expand independent business reporting across Africa.
SUPPORT XOL AFRICA →
