Shantanu Narayen

Shantanu Narayen (born May 27, 1963) is an Indian-American business executive who has been the chairman, president, and chief executive officer (CEO) of Adobe Inc. since December 2007. Before this, he was the company's president and chief operating officer since 2005.

Narayen is a member of The Business Council.

Early life and education Narayen grew up in Hyderabad, India in a Telugu Indian family. He is the second son of a mother who taught American literature and a father who ran a plastics company. Narayen attended Hyderabad Public School.

Narayen earned a bachelor's degree in electronics and communication engineering from University College of Engineering, Osmania University in Hyderabad. In 1993, Narayen received an MBA from the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley.

Career Early career In 1986, Narayen joined a Silicon Valley startup called Measurex Automation Systems, which made computer control systems for automotive and electronics customers. Narayen then moved to Apple, where he was in senior management positions from 1989 to 1995.

As CEO, Narayen led the transformation of the company, moving its creative and digital document software franchises – which include flagship programs such as Photoshop, Premiere Pro, and Acrobat/PDF – from the desktop to the cloud.

In 2018, Adobe exceeded $100 billion in market cap and joined the Fortune 500 for the first time. That same year, it also ranked No. 13 on Forbes’ Most Innovative Companies list. He is the lead independent director on the board of directors for Pfizer, and vice chairman of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum.

Adobe was forced to abandon its $20 billion acquisition of Figma due to regulatory pressure, resulting in a $1 billion breakup fee paid by Adobe.

In 2023, Narayen's total compensation from Adobe was $44.9 million, up 42% from the previous year and representing a CEO-to-median worker pay ratio of 229-to-1. In 2026, Narayen announced that he would step down as CEO after a successor is named.

Honors and awards In May 2011, Narayen received an honorary doctorate from his alma mater, Bowling Green State University. In 2018, Narayen was ranked #12 on Fortune'''s "Businessperson of the Year" list, and was deemed "Global Indian of the Year" in 2018 by The Economic Times'' of India. In 2019, he was a recipient of India's Padma Shri award, and in 2022, Narayen was the recipient of Armenia's Global High-Tech Award.

Personal life Narayen lives in Palo Alto, California. she has a doctorate in clinical psychology. They have two sons.