Adobe names Anil Chakravarthy as next CEO

Adobe's board named Anil Chakravarthy as the company's next president and CEO, effective December 1, 2026. The Adobe newsroom posted the announcement on Thursday, 3 September 2026, at 1:05 PM. Chakravarthy, currently president of Customer Experience Orchestration and worldwide field operations, joins the board the same day.

This is a board appointment with a fixed effective date, not a CEO swap today. Shantanu Narayen becomes executive chair and stays at the company to work the handoff. Lead Independent Director Frank Calderoni led a special committee. The board said it unanimously picked Chakravarthy after a rigorous process.

Chakravarthy joined Adobe in January 2020, first as Digital Experience general manager, then worldwide field operations, then president. Before Adobe he was CEO of Informatica for four years. Adobe's next public IR date is the Q3 FY2026 earnings call on Thursday, September 10.

CNBC (Annie Palmer) adds the other leadership move headlines skipped. David Wadhwani, president of Digital Media (creativity and productivity), is leaving as Chakravarthy steps up. CNBC had treated him as a CEO contender after the failed Figma bid. On LinkedIn, Wadhwani called the exit his own decision.

Adobe is not handing Chakravarthy the chair until December 1. Narayen is not leaving the company. Stock colour on AI-disruption fears is CNBC's market read, not Adobe's stated reason for the pick.

A software succession with a dated IR print sits on the same tape as Dell raising its FY27 AI-server outlook and Uber's 3,300-job cut. Holders already marking Norway's proposed Treasury cut and Waller's conditional September hold have a named September 10 print before the December 1 title change. Fintech names watching Revolut's conditional OCC letter are in the same "effective date, not the press-release day" bucket.

If you hold Adobe, sell into Creative Cloud or Experience Cloud, or run a CX-vendor risk book, use the September 10 Q3 call for guidance tone. Map CX Enterprise, GenStudio, and Semrush integration owners under Chakravarthy, and treat Wadhwani's Digital Media seat as an open succession watch, not a finished org chart. Chakravarthy is not CEO until December 1.