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Adobe Announces Management Changes

Press release from the issuing company

SAN JOSE, Calif.--Dec. 15, 2005-- Adobe Systems Incorporated today announced the appointment of Peg Wynn as senior vice president of human resources and Garrett J. Ilg as president of Adobe Japan. The company also announced the resignation of Murray Demo, executive vice president, finance and chief financial officer, who has made a personal decision to leave Adobe in order to spend more time with his family. Wynn, former vice president of human resources for Xilinx, will lead worldwide planning and development of Adobe's global talent pool, overseeing staffing, training, compensation and benefits, and HR systems. Wynn will report to Adobe CEO Bruce Chizen. "Intellectual property and human talent are the lifeblood of Adobe," said Chizen. "Our ability to attract and retain top talent is the basis for our success. We've been proud to keep company with Xilinx near the top of Fortune's annual list of the best companies to work for, where Xilinx ranked number five overall this year. Peg's deep experience will help drive the next phase of Adobe's growth as we combine forces with Macromedia." Before joining Adobe, Wynn served as vice president of worldwide human resources at San Jose-based Xilinx, maker of programmable semiconductor chips. She joined Xilinx in 1998 as a human resources director and was promoted to vice president of HR a year later. Prior to Xilinx, Wynn served as a principal consultant from 1992 to 1998 at Winning by Design, an HR consultancy, where she worked with international clients on strategic planning, productivity improvement and large-scale change management programs. Previously, Wynn worked for Intel Corporation for 13 years in a variety of human resources, engineering and corporate consulting capacities. She holds a bachelor's of science degree from Bowling Green State University. Garrett Ilg, president of Adobe Japan, joins Adobe from BEA Systems, Inc., where he was senior vice president and head of Asia Pacific. Ilg will report to Stephen Elop, Adobe president of worldwide field operations. In addition to driving growth among Adobe's traditional customers, Ilg will be responsible for leading the company's expansion into the mobile and enterprise markets through partnerships, strategic alliances and advancement of the company's software platform. "As one of our largest geographical markets and among the most technologically advanced societies in the world, Japan is critically important to driving worldwide customer adoption of Adobe's PDF and Flash-based engagement platform," said Elop. "Garrett's understanding of the unique business requirements of the region, his experience in international business and his enterprise solution expertise will help drive Adobe's focus on customers and advance our market leadership within Japan." From 1999 to 2002, Ilg was president and representative director of BEA Systems Japan. Prior to BEA, he spent five years with Reuters, a global information company where he most recently served as vice president of global accounts. From 1984 to 1994 he held marketing and sales positions with Dow Jones, Walt Disney, Columbia Pictures and Mitsubishi Electronics. Ilg holds a bachelor's degree in business from Whittemore School of Business, University of New Hampshire. Demo's departure, scheduled for the end of March or longer if his replacement has not been hired by then, comes after nearly 10 years with Adobe. He has made significant contributions to the company's overall success through his leadership of finance, investor relations, information services and global supply chain operations. "Murray has been a key member of Adobe's executive management team for five years, and his leadership and financial acumen will be greatly missed," said Chizen. "The financial strategies, process disciplines and corporate governance controls he instilled at Adobe will serve as a foundation for our business for years to come." A search for Demo's successor has been initiated.