Anil Chakravarthy, an IIT-BHU alumnus and MIT graduate, was named as the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Adobe on Friday.
Chakravarthy succeeds former president Shantanu Narayen, who had led the company for more than 18 years. “Adobe’s Board of Directors today announced that Anil Chakravarthy, president of Adobe’s Customer Experience Orchestration business and worldwide field operations, will become Adobe’s next president and chief executive officer and join the Board of Directors effective December 1, 2026,” the company said in a statement.
Narayen will, meanwhile, become executive chair and “work closely with Chakravarthy to ensure a smooth transition”, Adobe stated.
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Who is Anil Chakravarthy?
Chakravarthy, who completed his B. Tech in Computer Science and Engineering from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, joined Adobe in January 2020 as executive vice president and general manager leading the Digital Experience business, according to the company’s statement.
He completed his Ph.D at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1995 and joined McKinsey and Company as an engagement manager. In February, 2000, he joined Logictier as vice president, marketing, according to his LinkedIn profile, and became director of product management at Verisign in December 2001.
In May, 2004, he joined Symantec, where he worked for nine years. During his tenure there, he worked as senior director of business operations. He was then appointed as vice president of business critical services in 2005, and made vice president of India technical operations the year after. In 2009, Chakravarthy became senior vice president of enterprise product operations at Symantec, and was then shifted to the storage and availability management group.
In 2013, he was made executive vice president of information and security at Symantec, and continued in the position for eight months. Chakravarthy was also the chief executive officer of Informatica for six years, from August, 2015 to January, 2020. He has also served as an independent board member at USAA Federal Savings Bank, Ansys and FIS in Florida.
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What did the Adobe statement say?
In its statement appointing Chakravarthy as the new CEO, Adobe said he had taken on additional responsibility in 2020 “of leading Adobe’s worldwide field operations serving enterprise customers with the full portfolio of Adobe’s products including creativity and productivity.”
Reacting to his appointment, Chakravarthy said he was “honoured” and “energised” by the opportunity. “I want to thank the Board for the confidence they’ve placed in me. I look forward to working closely with our employees, Shantanu and the Board of Directors to continue serving our customers and transforming Adobe in the era of AI,” he said.
Former president Narayen expressed confidence in Chakravarthy, praising him as “an experienced transformational leader who leads with values, integrity and a deep knowledge of our business.”