Adobe vs Salesforce: Founders, CEOs and History
Adobe was founded in 1982 by John Warnock, Charles Geschke and is led by Shantanu Narayen. Salesforce was founded in 1999 by Marc Benioff, Parker Harris, Dave Moellenhoff and is led by Marc Benioff.
Company facts
Adobe
- Founded
- 1982
- Headquarters
- San Jose, California
- Current CEO
- Shantanu Narayen
- Employees
- 31,360
Salesforce
- Founded
- 1999
- Headquarters
- San Francisco, California
- Current CEO
- Marc Benioff
- Employees
- 83,334
Founders
Adobe
John Warnock
Warnock co-founded Adobe with Charles Geschke in 1982. He served as chief executive officer until 2000 and helped lead the development of PostScript and PDF. He died in 2023.
Charles Geschke
Geschke co-founded Adobe in 1982 and helped develop PostScript. He remained an Adobe director until 2020 and died on April 16, 2021.
Salesforce
Marc Benioff
Marc Benioff is a fiercely visionary American technology entrepreneur, highly aggressive corporate architect, and the profoundly influential CEO and founding patriarch fundamentally responsible for creating the massively dominant Salesforce cloud software empi…
Parker Harris
Parker Harris is an absolutely brilliant software engineer, fiercely skilled digital architect, and the profoundly influential technical co-founder fundamentally responsible for programming the incredibly complex infrastructural bedrock of the massive Salesfor…
Dave Moellenhoff
Dave Moellenhoff is a highly astute software engineer, fiercely visionary digital operator, and the profoundly influential technical co-founder fundamentally responsible for architecting the highly critical security and multi-tenant frameworks of the massive S…
Frank Dominguez
Frank Dominguez is a fiercely brilliant software engineer, highly strategic digital architect, and the profoundly influential technical co-founder fundamentally responsible for the incredibly robust frontend engineering and early product development of the mas…
CEOs and their tenures
Adobe
- John Warnock1982–2000
Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer
Warnock co-founded Adobe and led it through the introduction of PostScript, Illustrator, Photoshop, Acrobat, and PDF.
Source - Bruce Chizen2000–2007
Chief Executive Officer
Chizen led Adobe when it completed the Macromedia acquisition in 2005.
Source - Shantanu Narayen2007–present
Chair and Chief Executive Officer
Narayen has served as CEO since December 2007 and led Adobe's expansion of subscription services, Digital Experience, and Firefly.
Source
Salesforce
- Marc Benioff1999–present
Chair and Chief Executive Officer
Benioff has led Salesforce for its entire history, apart from co-CEO periods with Keith Block (2018-2020) and Bret Taylor (2021-2023).
Source - Parker Harris1999–present
Co-founder, Director and Chief Technology Officer, Slack
Harris is the remaining co-founder in an executive role and a member of the board.
Source
Timeline: Adobe and Salesforce side by side
1982Adobe
Adobe founded
John Warnock and Charles Geschke founded Adobe after working together at Xerox.
1984Adobe
PostScript introduced
Adobe introduced PostScript, its first product and a foundation of desktop publishing.
1986Adobe
Adobe completes IPO
Adobe completed its initial public offering and its shares began trading on Nasdaq.
1987Adobe
Illustrator launched
Adobe introduced Illustrator for vector graphics.
1990Adobe
Photoshop 1.0 released
Adobe released the first version of Photoshop after licensing the software from Thomas and John Knoll.
1993Adobe
Acrobat and PDF introduced
Adobe introduced Acrobat and the Portable Document Format.
1999Salesforce
Salesforce is founded
Marc Benioff, Parker Harris, Dave Moellenhoff, and Frank Dominguez founded Salesforce to deliver CRM through a browser.
2000Adobe
Bruce Chizen becomes CEO
Bruce Chizen succeeded John Warnock as chief executive officer.
2004Salesforce
NYSE IPO
Salesforce completed its initial public offering and gave the SaaS model public-market proof.
2005Adobe
Macromedia acquisition completed
Adobe completed its stock acquisition of Macromedia, adding products including Flash and Dreamweaver.
2005Salesforce
AppExchange launches
Salesforce opened the platform to third-party applications, strengthening its ecosystem moat.
2007Adobe
Shantanu Narayen becomes CEO
Shantanu Narayen became Adobe's chief executive officer in December 2007.
2009Adobe
Omniture acquisition completed
Adobe acquired Omniture and expanded into web analytics and digital marketing software.
2013Adobe
Creative Cloud subscription shift
Adobe stopped developing new Creative Suite releases and focused future creative-software releases on Creative Cloud subscriptions.
2018Adobe
Marketo acquisition completed
Adobe completed its $4.75 billion acquisition of Marketo.
2019Salesforce
Tableau acquisition closes
Salesforce added analytics and visualization through the Tableau acquisition.
2021Adobe
Frame.io acquisition completed
Adobe completed its acquisition of Frame.io for approximately $1.275 billion.
2021Salesforce
Slack acquisition closes
Salesforce acquired Slack to add workplace collaboration as a workflow surface for CRM data.
2023Adobe
Firefly launched
Adobe introduced Firefly generative-AI models and began integrating them into its applications.
2023Adobe
Figma agreement terminated
Adobe and Figma mutually terminated their proposed merger after concluding there was no clear path to regulatory approval.
2025Adobe
Fiscal 2025 revenue reaches $23.769 billion
Adobe reported $23.769 billion in revenue and $7.130 billion in net income for fiscal 2025.
2026Adobe
Anil Chakravarthy named next CEO
Adobe appointed Anil Chakravarthy to become president and CEO on December 1, 2026, with Shantanu Narayen becoming executive chair.
2026Salesforce
FY2026 revenue reaches $41.525B
Salesforce reported $41.525 billion in FY2026 revenue, with subscription and support revenue of $39.388 billion.
2026Salesforce
Q2 fiscal 2027 and raised guidance
Salesforce reported Q2 fiscal 2027 revenue of $11.345 billion, up 11%, Agentforce and Data 360 ARR of nearly $3.9 billion, and raised fiscal 2027 guidance to $46.1-46.4 billion.
Acquisitions
Adobe
- Frame.io2021$1.3B
- Workfront2020$1.5B
- Magento Commerce2018$1.7B
- Marketo2018$4.8B
- Omniture2009$1.8B
- Macromedia2005$3.4B
Salesforce
- Informatica2025$8B
- Own2024$1.9B
- PredictSpring and Tenyx2024Undisclosed
- Airkit.ai2023Undisclosed
- Spiff2023Undisclosed
- Troops.ai2022Undisclosed
Questions about Adobe vs Salesforce
Who is the CEO of Adobe Inc. and Salesforce, Inc.?
Adobe Inc. is led by Shantanu Narayen and Salesforce, Inc. is led by Marc Benioff. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was Adobe Inc. founded vs Salesforce, Inc.?
Adobe Inc. was founded in 1982 — 17 years before Salesforce, Inc., which was founded in 1999. Adobe Inc.'s longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger Salesforce, Inc..
How many employees does Adobe Inc. have compared to Salesforce, Inc.?
Adobe Inc. employs approximately 31,360 people, while Salesforce, Inc. employs approximately 83,334. Salesforce, Inc. has the larger workforce at 83,334 employees, compared to Adobe Inc.'s 31,360. A higher headcount does not necessarily imply greater efficiency — it often reflects differences in business model (e.g., manufacturing vs. software).
Where are Adobe Inc. and Salesforce, Inc. headquartered?
Both Adobe Inc. and Salesforce, Inc. are headquartered in United States, meaning they operate under the same primary regulatory and tax environment.
Who founded Adobe Inc. and Salesforce, Inc.?
Adobe Inc. was founded by John Warnock, Charles Geschke. Salesforce, Inc. was founded by Marc Benioff, Parker Harris, Dave Moellenhoff, Frank Dominguez.
Which company has a longer operating history — Adobe Inc. or Salesforce, Inc.?
Adobe Inc. has been operating for approximately 44 years, making it the more established of the two companies. Salesforce, Inc. has been in operation for around 27 years. A longer operating history often signals greater institutional resilience and brand recognition, though it can also mean slower adaptation to new market conditions.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Adobe vs Salesforce overview