Shantanu Narayen

Shantanu Narayen
Narayen in 2016
Born (1963-05-27) May 27, 1963[1]
Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India
CitizenshipAmerican[2]
Alma mater
TitleChairman and CEO of Adobe Inc.
PredecessorBruce Chizen
Board member ofAdobe Inc.[3]Pfizer[4]
HonoursPadma Shri (2019)

Shantanu Narayen (born May 27, 1963)[1] is an Indian-American business executive who has been the chairman, president, and chief executive officer (CEO) of Adobe Inc. since December 2007.[5][6] Before this, he was the company's president and chief operating officer since 2005.[7]

Narayen is a member of The Business Council.[8]

Early life and education

Narayen grew up in Hyderabad, India in a TeluguHindu family.[9] He is the second son of a mother who taught American literature and a father who ran a plastics company.[10] Narayen attended Hyderabad Public School.[11]

Narayen earned a bachelor's degree in electronics and communication engineering from University College of Engineering, Osmania University in Hyderabad.[12] He moved to the United States to complete his education, and received a master's degree in computer science from Bowling Green State University in 1986.[12][13] Narayen later received an MBA from the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley.[14]

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.[15][16] Narayen then moved to Apple, where he was in senior management positions from 1989 to 1995.[1]

After Apple, Narayen was director of desktop and collaboration products for Silicon Graphics.[12][1] In 1996, he co-founded Pictra Inc., a company that pioneered the concept of digital photo sharing over the Internet.[17][12]

Adobe

Narayen joined Adobe in 1998 as senior vice president of worldwide product development, a position he held through 2001.[1] From 2001 to 2005, Narayen was executive vice president of worldwide products.[1] In 2005, he was appointed president and chief operating officer.[1]

CEO

Narayen at the U.S. Consulate General Hamburg in 2019

In November 2007, Adobe announced that Bruce Chizen would step down as CEO effective December 1, 2007, to be replaced by Narayen.[18]

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.[19][1] In addition, during his tenure as CEO, Adobe has entered the digital experiences category, an expansion which began with the company’s acquisition of Omniture in 2009.[20][21]

In 2018, Adobe exceeded $100 billion in market cap and joined the Fortune 500 for the first time.[22][23] That same year, it also ranked No. 13 on Forbes’ Most Innovative Companies list.[22]

In 2011, Barack Obama appointed Narayen as a member of his Management Advisory Board.[24] He is the lead independent director on the board of directors for Pfizer, and vice chairman of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum.[25][26]

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.[27]

Honors and awards

In May 2011, Narayen received an honorary doctorate from his alma mater, Bowling Green State University.[28] In 2018, Narayen was ranked #12 on Fortune's "Businessperson of the Year" list,[29] and was deemed "Global Indian of the Year" in 2018 by The Economic Times of India.[25][26][30] In 2019, he was a recipient of India's Padma Shri award,[31] and in 2022, Narayen was the recipient of Armenia's Global High-Tech Award.[32][33]

Personal life

Narayen lives in Palo Alto, California.[2] He met his wife, Reni, while at Bowling Green State University in the mid 1980s;[14][34] she has a doctorate in clinical psychology.[35] They have two sons.[1] Narayen once represented India in sailing at an Asian Regatta.[36][34] He, along with Satya Nadella, has also invested in Major League Cricket to be hosted by the American Cricket Enterprises (ACE).[37]

References

  1. ^ abcdefghiWaters, Richard (February 22, 2015). "Monday interview: Shantanu Narayen, Adobe CEO". Financial Times. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  2. ^ ab"Adobe's Shantanu Narayen: India and Other Emerging Markets Are Going to Drive Trends in Software Evolution". Knowledge@Wharton. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  3. ^"BRIEF-Adobe's board elects Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen as Chairman". Reuters. February 1, 2017.
  4. ^"Shantanu Narayen". Pfizer.
  5. ^"Shantanu Narayen". Munzinger-Archiv (in German). Archived from the original on April 25, 2025. Retrieved November 5, 2025. [Shantanu Narayen. American business manager; Adobe. Birthday: 1963 India. Nation: United States of America (USA). Shantanu Narayen was born in India in 1963 as the second son of a teacher and an entrepreneur.]
  6. ^"Leaders". Adobe.com. Retrieved March 26, 2020. Shantanu Narayen is chairman, president and chief executive officer of Adobe, one of the largest and most diversified software companies in the world.
  7. ^"Shantanu Narayen"(PDF). Adobe. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  8. ^Admin. "Active Members". The Business Council. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  9. ^"Meet Shantanu Narayen, the Chairman, President & CEO of Adobe, he earns Rs 70 lakh per day: Know about his journey & net worth". Financialexpress. May 31, 2023. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
  10. ^Victoria Barret (June 16, 2008). "Ubiquitous Upside". Forbes.
  11. ^Hess, Abigail (April 5, 2018). "How one high school produced the CEOs of Microsoft, Adobe and Mastercard". CNBC. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  12. ^ abcd"Shantanu Narayen". Adobe. Retrieved August 11, 2015.
  13. ^"Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes 2011-05-06". Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes. Bowling Green State University. May 6, 2011. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  14. ^ ab"Shantanu Narayen, MBA 93". Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley. October 2008. Archived from the original on November 10, 2020. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  15. ^Janardhan, Arun (February 18, 2011). "Shantanu Narayen: A flash of inspiration". Mint. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  16. ^Eule, Alexander (August 24, 2013). "The Turnaround Artist". Barron's. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  17. ^"Adobe Names Shantanu Narayen Chief Executive Officer". Business Wire. November 12, 2007. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  18. ^"Adobe Names Shantanu Narayen Chief Executive Officer". Adobe. Retrieved November 12, 2007.
  19. ^"Top 5 Indian origin tech executives in the world". Business Reader. February 3, 2021. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  20. ^"Breaking: Adobe To Acquire Omniture For Approximately $1.8 Billion". TechCrunch. September 15, 2009.
  21. ^"Adobe to Acquire Omniture". Adobe. September 15, 2009. Archived from the original on August 6, 2018. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  22. ^ ab"Fortune 500 Companies 2018: Who Made the List". Fortune. Archived from the original on November 10, 2018. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  23. ^Michelman, Paul (December 4, 2018). "Key Words for Digital Transformation". MIT Sloan Management Review. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  24. ^"President Obama Announces Members of President's Management Advisory Board". March 10, 2011. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
  25. ^ ab"Shantanu Narayen | Pfizer: One of the world's premier biopharmaceutical companies". www.pfizer.com. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  26. ^ ab"ET Awards 2018 for Global Indian: Shantanu Narayen, Chief Executive Officer, Adobe Systems". The Economic Times. November 18, 2018.
  27. ^"Equilar 100: CEO Pay at the Largest Companies by Revenue". Equilar. June 7, 2024. Archived from the original on August 15, 2024. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
  28. ^"Adobe Systems president and CEO receives honorary degree". BGSU. Bowling Green State University. May 7, 2011. Archived from the original on May 14, 2011.
  29. ^"Shantanu Narayen, Ajay Banga named among Fortune Businessperson of the Year 2020". mint. December 4, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  30. ^"Shantanu Narayen, Ajay Banga named among Fortune Businessperson of the Year 2020". The Economic Times.
  31. ^"2019 Awardees List".
  32. ^Laureates - Global High-Tech Award
  33. ^admin (December 29, 2025). "Shantanu Narayen: The Indian-American CEO Who Redefined Adobe's Global Future". Leaders Wiki. Retrieved January 2, 2026.
  34. ^ abGodavarthi, Srikanth (September 12, 2018). "Thrilled to see what KTR has been doing in tech, says Adobe CEO". The Times of India. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  35. ^"New professorship in computer science awarded to Chao". Bowling Green State University. July 2017. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  36. ^"ET Awards 2018 for Global Indian: Shantanu Narayan, Chief Executive Officer, Adobe Systems". The Economic Times. November 18, 2018. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  37. ^Quint, The (December 16, 2020). "Satya Nadella, Shantanu Narayen Invest in a US Cricket League". TheQuint. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
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