From IT-BHU to Adobe CEO: Meet Anil Chakravarthy, who will succeed Shantanu Narayen

Adobe on Thursday announced that Indian-origin executive Anil Chakravarthy will become the software major's president and chief executive officer from December 1, succeeding Shantanu Narayen, who will transition to the role of executive chair.

Chakravarthy, currently president of Adobe's Customer Experience Orchestration business and worldwide field operations, will also join the company's board of directors, Adobe said in a statement.

Narayen, who has served as Adobe's CEO since 2007, will work closely with Chakravarthy to ensure a smooth transition and support the company's ongoing transformation, it said.

"Anil is an experienced transformational leader who leads with values, integrity and a deep knowledge of our business," Narayen said, expressing confidence that Chakravarthy was the right person to lead Adobe's growth in an AI-driven era.

Chakravarthy said he was honoured to have been chosen to lead Adobe at a "pivotal moment" and would focus on growth and the next era of agentic software for creativity, productivity and customer experience.

"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," he said.

Who is Anil Chakravarthy?

Anil Chakravarthy joined Adobe in January 2020 as executive vice president and general manager of its Digital Experience business.

Later that year, he took on additional responsibility for worldwide field operations serving enterprise customers.

He was promoted to president of Digital Experience and worldwide field operations in December 2021.

“Under Chakravarthy’s leadership, Adobe has become an industry leader in Customer Experience Orchestration solutions,” the software firm said.

Chakravarthy also played a key role in scaling Adobe Experience Platform and introducing new product innovations, according to the company.

He successfully championed the acquisitions and integration of Workfront and Semrush.

Before joining Adobe, Chakravarthy was CEO of enterprise cloud data management company Informatica for four years.

He had joined Informatica in 2013 as executive vice president.

Earlier, he held executive roles at Symantec and VeriSign and worked at McKinsey & Company.

Chakravarthy holds a Bachelor of Technology degree in Computer Science and Engineering from the Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University (IT-BHU), now known as IIT, Varanasi, and a master's degree and PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Adobe’s board had formed a special committee led by lead independent director Frank Calderoni to oversee the search process.

Adobe said its board unanimously selected Chakravarthy following a selection process.

The leadership transition will take effect on December 1, 2026.