Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen Stepping Down After 18 Years — AI Rivalry Cited as Primary Investor Pressure
CNBC·high signal
Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen announced March 12, 2026 he will transition once a successor is named, with David Wadhwani (President, Digital Media) widely cited as heir apparent. Adobe shares plunged 7.6% on the announcement and are down 23% YTD, with investors explicitly impatient over the company's AI transition pace despite aggressive Firefly/Sensei launches. Fortune characterized this as the first confirmed case of 'CEO AI churn' — where long-tenured enterprise software leaders fail to navigate the AI competitive shift and exit under investor pressure.