Narayen grew up in Hyderabad, India, in a Telugu-speaking family, and was the second son of a mother who taught American literature and a father who ran a plastics company. He earned a bachelor's degree in electronics and communication engineering from University College of Engineering, Osmania University in Hyderabad. He moved to the United States to complete his education, and in 1986 received a master's degree in computer science from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Narayen worked for Apple and founded Pictra, Inc. before joining Adobe in 1998 as senior vice-president of worldwide product development. From 2001 to 2005 he was executive vice-president of worldwide products. As CEO of Adobe, Narayen led the transformation of the company, moving its creative and digital document software franchises – which include flagship programs such as Photoshop, Premiere Pro, and Acrobat/PDF – from the desktop to the cloud.