Adobe has named Anil Chakravarthy as president and CEO, effective Dec. 1, succeeding Shantanu Narayen after the founder-led company faces sustained equity pressure during AI disruption concerns.
The numbers tell the story of deterioration. Adobe shares fell 25 percent in 2024, 21 percent in 2025, and 18 percent year-to-date through 2026—a cumulative 64 percent drawdown over three years. The stock declined two percent in extended trading on the CEO announcement itself, suggesting limited investor enthusiasm for the transition.
Chakravarthy, most recently president of customer experience orchestration and worldwide field operations, joins the board. He previously served as CEO of enterprise data management firm Informatica before joining Adobe nearly seven years ago. Narayen, who led Adobe for 18 years, will transition to executive chair during a handover period.
The timing compounds a crisis of confidence. CFO Dan Durn departed June 15 for Marvell Technology, leaving Adobe without permanent CFO through year-end after Narayen's March departure announcement. Adobe stock plunged seven percent the Friday after earnings that same period—a sharp signal of investor sensitivity to financial leadership instability.
David Wadhwani, president of Adobe's creativity and productivity business for nearly five years, announced his departure ahead of Chakravarthy's appointment. Wadhwani had been a leading candidate for the CEO role, particularly given his role in Adobe's bid to acquire Figma, which collapsed in 2023 due to regulatory opposition. He wrote on LinkedIn: "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."
Narayen expressed confidence in Chakravarthy, stating: "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."
Yet the pattern is stark: a potential CEO successor and the chief financial officer exiting within months of the founder's planned step-down, all while the stock has lost nearly two-thirds of its value. The departures suggest internal assessment that the competitive environment—particularly AI-driven threats to Adobe's core design and productivity tools—requires leadership recalibration that outgoing executives chose not to undertake.
