Bengaluru: Adobe has appointed Indian-origin executive Anil Chakravarthy as its new president and chief executive officer, bringing an end to Shantanu Narayen's more than 18-year tenure at the helm of the software giant.
The company announced on Thursday that Chakravarthy will take over as CEO from December 1, while Narayen will move into the position of executive chair.
Chakravarthy, an alumnus of Banaras Hindu University, currently heads Adobe's Customer Experience Orchestration business and worldwide field operations.
"I could not be more confident that Anil is the right person to lead Adobe's growth in an AI-driven era, and I look forward to working closely with him in my new role as executive chair," Narayen said in a statement.
The leadership transition comes as David Wadhwani, president of Adobe's Creativity and Productivity Business and one of the contenders for the CEO position, announced his exit after five years with the company.
Wadhwani said he had decided to move on as Adobe entered a new phase under Chakravarthy's leadership.
Sandhya Devanathan exits Meta to join OpenAI"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," he said in a LinkedIn post.
Chakravarthy joined Adobe in January 2020 as executive vice president and general manager, taking charge of its Digital Experience business.
He was given an additional responsibility in September that year to oversee worldwide field operations, working with enterprise customers across Adobe's portfolio, including its creativity and productivity offerings.
He became president of Digital Experience and worldwide field operations in December 2021.
Before joining Adobe, Chakravarthy spent four years as CEO of Informatica, which specialises in enterprise cloud data management. He joined the company in 2013 as executive vice president.
His earlier career included senior roles at technology companies Symantec and VeriSign, besides a stint at consulting firm McKinsey & Company.
Chakravarthy grew up in Bengaluru's southern neighbourhoods, where he completed his early schooling before pursuing higher education at IIT and later MIT. His journey from Bengaluru to leading one of the world's biggest software companies marks a notable milestone in his career.
He holds a Bachelor of Technology degree in Computer Science and Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (Banaras Hindu University), Varanasi. He also has a Master of Science and a Ph.D from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
From gully cricket in Bengaluru to Adobe's top job
Before Anil Chakravarthy was named the next president and CEO of Adobe, he was a studious Bengaluru boy who spent his childhood playing cricket with neighbours and learning the violin.
Chakravarthy, a Bengaluru native, will take charge of Adobe on December 1, succeeding Shantanu Narayen, who is stepping into the role of executive chair after more than 18 years as CEO.
He studied at Sudarshan Vidya Mandir and Vijaya High School in Jayanagar and National College in Basavanagudi before moving to IIT (BHU), Varanasi, where he pursued computer science and engineering. He later earned a master's degree and PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
"He was always a very studious guy. He topped his Class 10 and was very focused on his studies. But he also played the violin. We spent a lot of our childhood playing cricket together," his neighbour told DH.