Adobe CEO Bruce Chizen will step down from his post at the end of the month, the company said Monday.
Effective Dec. 1, president and COO Shantanu Narayen will take over as CEO of the software company and also join its board of directors. Chizen will serve the remainder of his term on the board through the second quarter of 2008 and continue as a strategic advisor for the company until the end of Adobe’s fiscal year 2008, which goes through early December of the calendar year.
Adobe appointed Chizen CEO in 2000; he joined the company in 1994. During his time as top executive of Adobe the company purchased Macromedia in 2005, making it a leader in the market for providing development and design tools for building rich Internet applications (RIAs). The company also raised its industry profile, becoming a target of larger software vendors such as Microsoft for its savvy maneuvering to provide infrastructure for this new wave of Web-based applications.
In a press statement, Adobe’s Board of Directors thanked Chizen for his “vision” in transforming the company from one known mainly for its design tools to “one of the largest and most diversified software companies in the world.” The board said that appointing as Chizen’s successor Narayen — who already was in charge of day-to-day global operations, long-term market strategies and overseas research and development among other core business functions — will ensure a smooth transition.
Narayen joined Adobe in January 1998 as vice-president and general manager of the company’s engineering technology group and enjoyed a steady ascent to the company’s top ranks. In January 1999, he was promoted to senior vice-president, worldwide products, and in March 2001 he was promoted to executive vice-president, worldwide product marketing and development. Narayen assumed his current post in January 2005, in time to help engineer the Macromedia purchase later that year.
