John Murphy

Adobe CFO John Murphy is stepping down after three years of guiding the software maker’s finances.

Adobe said Tuesday that Murphy, 52, will retire this year “to spend more time with family and friends and focus on philanthropy” and it will be evaluating internal and external candidates to replace him.

During Murphy’s tenure, Adobe’s revenue grew from over $7 billion in 2017 to over $12 billion in 2020. The company also made several acquisitions, including B2B marketing-automation firm Marketo and, most recently, work-management platform Workfront.

“John has made significant contributions to Adobe for which I’m deeply grateful, and I wish him well as he pursues his passion for philanthropy,” Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen said in a news release.

Murphy joined Adobe as chief accounting officer in March 2017 from chip manufacturer Qualcomm and was promoted to CFO in April 2018, replacing Mark Garrett. He formerly worked at pay-TV company DirecTV.

“Murphy had big shoes to fill when he stepped into the role of finance chief for Adobe,” Forbes reported, noting that Garrett had “helped steer the software maker through a decade-long transition as the company shifted from one-off sales of shrink-wrapped boxes of software to monthly subscriptions.”

According to Forbes, Murphy was a “key figure” in the $4.75 billion acquisition of Marketo, which “signaled the company’s aspiration to expand its marketing offerings aggressively.”

Murphy, who earned $7.4 million in total compensation in 2019, told The Wall Street Journal he was looking forward to spending more time educating people about and preserving mid-century modern architecture. “That’s a passion of mine,” he said.

Adobe shares jumped 1.7% to $460.20 in trading Tuesday after the company reported higher quarterly profit and revenue and raised its projections for the year.