Adobe announced the appointment of Anil Chakravarty as its next President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), who will take over after Shantanu Narayen's departure, who had previously announced his intention to leave the company.
The Adobe Board of Directors stated that Chakravarty, who currently heads the customer experience orchestration business and global operations divisions, will assume the roles of President and CEO, and will join the company's Board of Directors on December 1, 2026. Shantanu Narayen will transition to the role of Executive Chairman and will work closely with Chakravarty to ensure a smooth leadership transition and support Adobe's ongoing transformation.
Frank Calderoni, Adobe's lead independent director and head of the special committee overseeing the CEO selection process, noted that the Board unanimously concluded that Chakravarty is the right leader for Adobe's next phase of growth.
Commenting on his appointment, Chakravarty expressed his honor in leading Adobe at such a pivotal moment, noting that he is inspired by the opportunity to drive growth and strengthen the company's leadership in the new era of agency software. He also thanked Narayen for transforming Adobe's business over several decades and emphasized that the company is well-prepared for the next stage of development.
Who is Anil Chakravarty?
Chakravarty began working at Adobe in January 2020 as Vice President of Executive Management and General Manager, leading the digital experience business. In September 2020, he took on the additional responsibility of overseeing Adobe's global operations serving enterprise clients across the company's product portfolio, including creativity and productivity offerings. In December 2021, he was promoted to President of Digital Experience and Global Operations.
During his tenure, Chakravarty played a key role in developing and scaling Adobe's AI-based solutions, such as Adobe CX Enterprise, GenStudio, and Brand Visibility, which the company defines as category-defining products designed to enhance customer experience. He also made significant contributions to expanding the Adobe Experience Platform and implementing new product innovations, such as CX Enterprise Coworker. Furthermore, he actively supported the acquisition and integration of Workfront and Semrush.
Before joining Adobe, Chakravarty served as CEO of Informatica for four years, managing the enterprise cloud data management company. He initially joined Informatica in 2013 as Vice President of Executive Management. Previously, in his career, he held leadership positions at Symantec and VeriSign, and worked at McKinsey & Company, accumulating experience in the technology industry.
Chakravarty holds a Bachelor of Technology in Computer Science and Engineering from the Institute of Technology in Varanasi, India, as well as a Master's and Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).