Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen leaves after 18 years; schoolmate Satya Nadella applauds ’empathy to creative process’

One expert said that in the big picture, both Adobe and Narayen have done very well over the last 18 years and the change in leadership could be strategic. “At least through 2021, Adobe has performed extremely well with strategic acquisitions such as Behance and Magento,” said Kashyap Kompella, founder of technology consulting firm RPA2AI Research. But it faced business pressures due to the agility of Canva’s modular pricing and its failed attempt to acquire Figma. “Adobe has struggled since its founding, particularly for its SaaS pricing model,” he added.