Shantanu Narayen bows out ahead of his 100th earnings call at Adobe

Narayen joined Adobe in 1998 as senior vice president and rose through the ranks. He was appointed CEO in 2007, as the then CEO, Bruce Chizen, stepped down

More than 18 years after he had taken over as the chief executive officer of Adobe in December 2007, Shantanu Narayen, 62, is stepping down amid reaction from the stock market to peers in the tech universe. Counted among the most influential Indian-American executives to have led a major US technology company, Narayen’s stint as the CEO saw Adobe transition from a below $1-billion revenue firm to a $25-billion entity. The employee strength in the San Jose-headquartered company has grown from 3,000 to 30,000 in these 18 years. 

After his announcement on Thursday (US time), the compa­ny’s stock dipped 7 per cent, reflecting the uncertainty of a leadership change at a time when artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly redraw­ing the competitive landscape of the software industry. 

In an internal memo to the employees, Narayen said it was not a goodbye moment. He called it ‘’a time for reflection’’, while pointing out that he was about to conduct his 100th earnings call at the company. 

Under his leadership, Adobe transformed from a desktop software maker into a cloud-based creative powerhouse. His journey is widely seen as a template for Indian-born engineers who have gone on to lead some of America's biggest technology firms. 

Among the first to congratulate Narayen on his long stint was Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO Microsoft — who also attended the same school as Narayen. 

“Congrats Shantanu, on a legendary run at Adobe! You’ve built one of the most important software companies in the world, and expanded what’s possible for creators, entrepreneurs, and brands everywhere,” he wrote in a post on X. 

Nadella further added, “What has always stood out to me is the empathy you’ve brought to the creative process and the example you’ve set as a leader. Grateful for your friendship, mentorship, and for all you’ve done for Adobe and for our industry.” 

Narayen was born in Hyderabad, Telangana on May 27, 1963. After completing his engineering degree from Osmania University, he pursued a master's in computer science from Bowling Green State University in Ohio before building a career in Silicon Valley. 

Narayen joined Adobe in 1998 as senior vice president and rose through the ranks. He was appointed CEO in 2007, as then CEO Bruce Chizen stepped down. 

Since then, Narayen has help­ed the company’s flagship software such as Photoshop, Illustr­ator, Premiere Pro and InDesign become household products for creatives across the world. 

Narayen will stay on as chair of the board to support the next CEO, the company said. The announcement of him leaving the helm comes at a time when Adobe is doubling down on AI. 

Adobe's rivals, Canva and Figma, have ramped up launches of GenAI image, video and editing tools, releasing their own product suites to grab market share. Marketers and movie studios are also embracing the technology, striking partnerships and using generative features to create campaigns and short films to target audiences. 

The announcement on Narayen’s exit came the same day that Adobe reported quarterly financial results, with double-digit growth in total revenue and customer subscription segments.