An alumnus of IIT Varanasi, Anil Chakravarthy serves as president of Adobe’s Customer Experience Orchestration business and oversees worldwide field operations.
Adobe has appointed Indian-origin Anil Chakravarthy as its new president and chief executive officer, replacing Shantanu Narayen, who has headed the software giant for over 18 years. Chakravarthy will take charge as CEO on December 1, Adobe said on Thursday. Narayen will move into the role of executive chair after stepping down as CEO.
Currently, Chakravarthy serves as president of Adobe’s Customer Experience Orchestration business and oversees worldwide field operations. He joined Adobe in January 2020 as executive vice president and general manager of its Digital Experience business.
In September 2020, Chakravarthy took on the additional responsibility of leading Adobe’s worldwide field operations, working with enterprise customers across the company’s portfolio, including its creativity and productivity products. He was elevated to president of Digital Experience and worldwide field operations in December 2021.
“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.
Who Is Anil Chakravarthy?
An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology (Banaras Hindu University), Varanasi, Chakravarthy holds a Bachelor of Technology degree in Computer Science and Engineering. He also earned a Master of Science and Ph.D from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Before joining Adobe, Chakravarthy spent four years as CEO of Informatica, a company specialising in enterprise cloud data management. He joined Informatica in 2013 as executive vice president.
His earlier career included senior roles at technology companies including Symantec and VeriSign, as well as consulting firm McKinsey & Company.
Chakravarthy’s appointment comes as Adobe focuses heavily on artificial intelligence and the integration of AI capabilities across its creative, productivity and customer experience products.
Following the leadership change, David Wadhwani, president of Adobe’s Creativity and Productivity Business and one of the contenders for the CEO position, announced his departure after five years with the company.