Meet Adobe’s new Chief Accounting Officer, Jillian Forusz

We’re excited to share that we've appointed Jillian Forusz as our new Chief Accounting Officer and Corporate Controller! Jillian joined Adobe in 2007 where she was responsible for the company’s external reporting and technical accounting. In her 17 years with Adobe, Jillian has been instrumental in transforming the finance and accounting functions and scaling company operations to support the incredible business and workforce growth during her tenure.

Prior to assuming the role of CAO, Jillian was the Corporate controller and Vice President of Accounting & Operations. She holds a bachelor's degree from Penn State University.

Keep reading to learn more about Jillian and her career.

How does it feel to be Adobe’s new Chief Accounting Officer?

I’m incredibly excited and honored to be selected! This role, as a steward of a public company’s reputation with investors, and across the industry, shapes and influences how people regard our company. As the first female CAO of Adobe, I am excited to have shattered ceilings as so many women are doing today across industries and institutions, so this feels great. I am inspired to continue supporting the advancement of women in the workplace.

Did you always want to get into accounting?

I grew up in a family steeped in the hospitality industry, which was a natural direction for me. I thought I wanted to be a chef but started my college studies in accounting. My hospitality background has been an incredible asset in my accounting career. Both require operational excellence and relentless dedication to creating great experiences for your customers. The skills I took from my experience in hospitality are my secret sauce and have been key to my success at Adobe.

As I earned my bachelor's degree, I learned the intricacies of various accounting functions and realized the vast impact the function has on the success of a company. This inspired me to want to grow my career in finance and accounting but not be constrained by the traditional boundaries of the function. I was able to define my role and therefore expand my impact.

I still toy with the idea of opening my own bakery, restaurant or food truck one day though!

You’ve been at Adobe since 2007. Tell us about your career journey to CAO.

I was hired at a time when Adobe was going through massive change and growth. We had just acquired Macromedia, which began a new chapter in the company’s history. My job at the time was to modernize our technical accounting and financial reporting function to support our growth trajectory and build scale for the future.

For instance, unusual for my role at the time, I took on equity operations, global payroll, and global procurement to scale these functions to support Adobe’s growth aspirations. More recently, my team and I have been innovating across all functions, leveraging AI and ML technology to bring automation into our workflows, creating a better user experience.

What’s kept you at Adobe for over 17 years?

Adobe has provided me the opportunity to grow, learn and define my career. Because I have been given the latitude to structure my role, reinvent myself and create positive impact where I see opportunity, I could not imagine working anywhere else.

What career advice would you give to the next generation of leaders?

Be authentic, be your own advocate, be bold!

What do you do when you’re not working?

I enjoy spending time with my home team which consists of my husband, three kids and our dog. I'm into travel, wine and I am a big foodie. You will most likely find me in the kitchen doing research and development of new recipes. I love both cooking and baking (even though I don't like sweets!). The more challenging something is to make, the better. I find cooking to be extremely restorative and is a passion I shared with my late father... speaking of passion, you should try my passion fruit thumbprint cookies!