Adobe CEO Bruce Chizen will ill-treat down from his place at the remnant of the month , the company said Monday .
Effective Dec. 1 , President and Chief Operating Officer Shantanu Narayen will take over as chief operating officer of the software company and also join its board of directors . Chizen will serve the difference of his term on the board through the second quarter of 2008 and persist in as a strategic advisor for the company until the end of Adobe ’s financial yr 2008 , which goes through former December of the calendar class .
Adobe appointed Chizen CEO in 2000 ; he joined the society in 1994 . During his time as top executive of Adobe , the company purchased Macromedia in 2005 , make it a leader in the marketplace for providing development and design tools for building ample Internet applications programme ( RIAs ) . The company also raised its industry visibility , becoming a objective of larger software vendors such as Microsoft for its savvy maneuvering to provide substructure for this new wafture of vane - establish applications .
In a imperativeness statement , Adobe ’s Board of Directors thanked Chizen for his “ vision ” in transform the caller from one known primarily for its purpose tool to “ one of the great and most diversified package company in the world . ” The board say that appointing as Chizen ’s successor Narayen — who already was in charge of day - to - day global operations , long - term securities industry strategies and oversea research and developing among other heart business functions — will ensure a politic modulation .
Narayen get together Adobe in January 1998 as frailty president and general manager of the caller ’s engineering technology group and relish a steady ascent to the company ’s top rank . In January 1999 , he was further to senior vice president , worldwide products , and in March 2001 he was advertize to executive frailty chair , worldwide product merchandising and ontogeny . Narayen assumed his current post in January 2005 , in time to assist engineer the Macromedia leverage later that twelvemonth .
At first glance it seems that Chizen ’s stepping aside was a planned transition — a natural passing of the torch from an executive director who has serve his clock time at the top to one who has make a promotion . Indeed , there do n’t come along to be fiscal term that would cause Adobe ’s board to pull such a change . Adobe has been perform well financially , and even declare in conjunction with the executive changes that it will cover gross near the high end of its targeted range of $ 860 million to $ 890 million for its financial fourth quartern , which it plans to cover on Dec. 17 .
On a league call Monday , executive digest the view that Chizen ’s move is more a personal decision than due to any financial or commercial enterprise reason . In fact , Narayen said the company made the announcement that its 4th quarter would be irrefutable in tandem with the executive news “ to make it completely clear ” that Chizen decided to leave and was not forced out of his mail .
For his part , Chizen said he choose to step down because “ I ’m at a point in my life that I ’d like to take a step back and cogitate about what I would wish to do with the remainder of my life . ” He said his move to pass the leaders to Narayen was “ one of the hardest [ decision ] I ’ve ever made . ”
Chizen also praised Narayen for his “ exceptional operable leading ” and said he is positive Adobe will go on to thrive under its new leadership .
