Freshworks CEO Girish Mathrubootham steps down, company appoints Dennis Woodside as CEO

SaaS firm Freshworks Inc. announced on Wednesday (May 1) the appointment of Dennis Woodside as Freshworks’ Chief Executive Officer and President. 

Woodside, currently Freshworks’ President, will succeed Girish Mathrubootham, the company’s Founder, as CEO.  

Freshworks said Mathrubootham will transition to the new role of executive chairman. Mathrubootham will remain the chairman of the board of directors, and Woodside will also remain a member of the board of directors.

Mathrubootham's role in Freshworks

Since founding Freshworks in 2010, Mathrubootham has transformed Freshworks from a fledgling startup in Chennai into a leading SaaS company headquartered in San Mateo.

Notably, He steered Freshworks through an IPO on Nasdaq in September 2021, making Freshworks the first India-born SaaS firm to trade on a US exchange. Under his leadership, the business has grown to serve more than 67,000 customers globally, powered by approximately 4,900 talented employees operating globally in 13 locations.

What did Girish Mathrubootham say about Dennis Woodside?

“When I first proposed this next step to the Freshworks Board, we were starting to chart the next phase of our company’s journey. We brought Dennis on board to partner with me on crafting an ambitious growth plan, and my hope was that he could eventually lead the team of talented employees around the world to execute it, which would allow me to spend more time on the long-term product vision, innovation and AI strategy,” said Mathrubootham.

Mathrubootham said Dennis has a deep understanding of Freshworks’ business, customers and employees and a strong track record of building and scaling large global teams. "He is the right leader to become our next CEO. I’m thrilled to announce this transition," he added.

When did Woodside join Freshworks?

Woodside joined Freshworks as President in September 2022. Since then, Woodside has accelerated Freshworks’ investments in enterprise-grade products and driven increased focus on the growth of mid-market and enterprise customers.

Previously, Woodside served as Chief Operating Officer of Dropbox, helping grow revenue from $250 million to $1.3 billion and ultimately raising over $1 billion in a successful IPO in 2018.

Prior to that, Woodside held various sales and strategy leadership roles at Google from 2003 to 2014, including serving as CEO of Motorola Mobility after Google acquired the company in 2012. Before his long tenure at Google, Woodside was a consultant at McKinsey & Co.

Woodside currently serves on the board of the Boys & Girls Club of the Peninsula in California and previously served on the board of the American Red Cross from 2016 to 2022 and on the board of ServiceNow from 2018 to 2022.

Roles and responsibilities

In his new role as Executive Chairman, Mathrubootham will engage with the company's product vision, customers, and employees.

"He will work across the company to bring Freshworks’ long-term vision to life and consult with Woodside on strategic decisions. The transition frees him up to spend more time with our product teams in India, and our customers globally, and stay engaged with other external stakeholders," the company said.