Adobe names Anil Chakravarthy as CEO, replacing Shantanu Narayen

A close-up view shows corporate signage mounted on an exterior concrete wall at an Adobe office building in Lehi, Utah, United States, on August 26, 2026. Charles-McClintock Wilson | Nurphoto | Getty ImagesAdobe on Thursday named Anil Chakravarthy as its next president and CEO, succeeding Shantanu Narayen, who announced he would step down earlier this year. Chakravarthy, who most recently served as president of Adobe's customer experience orchestration and worldwide field operations, will take the helm Dec. 1, the company said. He will also join Adobe's board.Narayen will become executive chair and "work closely" with Chakravarthy during the transition, Adobe said. Narayen said last March he would leave his role after joining the company in 1998 and serving as the head of Adobe for 18 years. "Adobe's opportunity ahead is limitless with our track record in creating new market categories and world-class products," Narayen said in a statement. "Anil is an experienced transformational leader who leads with values, integrity and a deep knowledge of our business." Adobe is tapping a new CEO as the company's stock has been pummeled due to investor concerns that artificial intelligence will disrupt software makers. After a boom in 2023, Adobe shares have slid since, losing 25% in 2024 and another 21% in 2025. The stock is down 18% so far in 2026.Shares of Adobe fell about 2% in extended trading.Read more CNBC tech newsOpenAI begins rolling out Astra model after warning of its advanced cyber capabilitiesHugging Face approached Nvidia's Huang weeks ahead of $12.9B acquisition, CEO tells CNBCHow Meta will pull off massive changes to its social media appsAnthropic's distillation battle turns to the dark web as China concerns swell