Shantanu Narayen will help select his successor and will remain as chairman of the company’s board.
The CEO of software giant Adobe, Shantanu Narayen, is to step down after 18 years in the role, with lead independent director Frank Calderoni tasked with leading the process of finding a replacement.
Narayen will remain in the role until the recruitment of his successor is completed, and will remain as chairman of Adobe’s board.
In a message to employees posted on Adobe’s website, Narayen said he and Calderoni will work together in the coming months to select a successor and “ensure a smooth transition”.
Narayen noted that in his 28 years with the company, it has grown from about 3,000 employees to more than 30,000, and revenues from less than $1bn to more than $25bn.
He said the “AI era” presents a huge opportunity for the company, adding that AI, new workflows and “new forms of communication” are currently shaping the “next era of innovation”.
During his tenure, Adobe’s stock has risen sixfold, while the S&P 500 has risen nearly 350pc over the same period, noted CNBC, which also reported that Narayen will earn $51m in the 2025 financial year and owns $118m in Adobe shares.
Adobe, founded in 1982, is a leading provider of creative software, offering household name applications such as InDesign, Dreamweaver, Acrobat, Photoshop and After Effects.
In recent years, it has developed a series of productive AI tools known as Firefly – the company says it has produced more than 29bn images to date – to reduce the general distance between traditional software products and AI offerings.
Shares in many software providers have sunk this year on fears about their prospects in the age of AI technology. This week, collaboration software provider Atlassian announced plans to cut 10pc of its workforce.
Bloomberg noted that Adobe’s stock is down about 23pc in 2026, putting it near its lowest level in three years, adding that while Adobe’s financial metrics have shown little significant change since the start of last year, the share price’s drop of about 40pc in that time may be the reason for the planned CEO change.
Yesterday, Adobe announced its Q1 2026 financial results, which included record quarterly cash flow of $2.96bn and year-over-year AI-first ARR swings.
Frank Calderoni said of Narayen’s departure: “On behalf of the board, I want to recognize Shantanu’s contributions as CEO and architect of Adobe’s transformation over the past 18 years, and positioning Adobe to succeed in the AI-driven era.
“As we take the next step in succession planning, we are focused on selecting the right leader for this exciting next chapter of the company’s growth and appreciate Shantanu’s continued leadership as CEO to ensure a seamless transition.”
Narayen’s external recommendations and his performance came through X to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Dylan Field, CEO of Figma, which Adobe spent more than a year trying to buy before the deal fell through in December 2023.
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