Freshworks CEO Girish Mathrubootham Steps Down, Dennis Woodside Takes Helm

Freshworks announced on Wednesday that its founder, Girish Mathrubootham, has stepped down as CEO of the SaaS giant. The Chennai and San Mateo-based company has appointed its current president, Dennis Woodside, as the new CEO. 

This leadership transition is part of a long-discussed strategy that Mathrubootham shared with the board, focusing on shifting his role to concentrate on long-term product vision and the company’s expansion in India.

Following the announcement, Freshworks saw a sharp decline in its stock value, with shares plummeting nearly 25 per cent during after-market hours trading on Nasdaq. This drop reflects investors’ nervous reactions to the unexpected leadership changes at the helm of the tech firm.

Mathrubootham’s decision to step down did not come lightly. In a heartfelt email to employees, which was later shared publicly, he expressed his deep belief in the company’s vision and its future. Under his leadership, Freshworks has grown to service over 67,000 customers worldwide and employs more than 4,900 staff members. The company, which targets mainly small and medium businesses with its CRM software, has been diversifying its market over the past two years to withstand economic downturns.

The leadership change follows several months after the company’s board cancelled a performance-based stock award of six million shares to Mathrubootham due to the failure of meeting the stock price hurdles, which were significantly ahead of the current stock price. These hurdles were part of an incentive plan designed to retain and motivate the top executive by tying rewards to ambitious stock performance targets.

Despite these setbacks, Freshworks reported a 20 per cent increase in revenue year-over-year in the last quarter, posting USD 160.1 million. The company also recorded its first operating profit of USD 44.5 million since listing in the US, despite a net annual loss that narrowed significantly from the previous year.