.
CHENNAI: Girish Mathrubootham announced his decision to step down as the executive chairman of Freshworks, 15 years after he founded the software as a service company. He is exiting the company after retiring from the role and as chairman of the board from December 1 2025, just one and half years after he quit as chief executive in May 2024. Roxanne Austin, current lead independent director will take charge as chairperson of the board, the company said. Austin serves as board member and lead independent director since May 2021 and also serves the boards of directors of CrowdStrike and Verizon.In an SEC filing, Freshwork said Mathrubootham’s resignation was not the result of any disagreement on matters relating to the company’s operations, policies or practices. Founded in Chennai in 2010, Girish Mathrubootham was instrumental in securing investments from leading investors including Accel, Sequoia, Tiger Global Management, and listing Freshworks in Nasdaq in September 2021, making it the first Indian SaaS startup to trade on a US exchange.In a social media post, Mathrubootham said, “This has not been an easy decision, but I believe it is the right one for me at this stage,” adding that “What started in Chennai grew into a global SaaS company on Nasdaq — thanks to an amazing team & customers.” He will focus on Together fund, the venture fund he co-founded to work with artificial intelligence startups. He has been active in the fund and backing AI-based SaaS firms, at a time when AI adoption is disrupting the industry. “I believe the world is at the beginning of a new era, and India has the talent and ambition to become a true product nation. That is the dream I want to dedicate my energy to,” he said. Founded by Manav Garg and Girish Mathurbootham in 2021, the fund backs and mentors seed stage, series A startups working on AI applications and infrastructure. He is also an advisor to over 60 companies. G, as he’s fondly called, is part of the founding team of SaaSBoomi, a pay-it-forward community of founders to help the SaaS ecosystem similar to Silicon Valley’s model. “Fifteen years ago, I started Freshworks from a small office in Chennai with nothing more than a dream, borrowed furniture, and a belief that we could build world-class software from India for the world. What began in that garage grew into something much bigger — a company that serves thousands of customers around the world, went public on Nasdaq, and proved that India can build global product companies,” he said. Speaking to TOI last year, Mathrubootham said he does not mind losing the title and money to achieve what he calls the ‘real growth’.Girish equated this decision to quitting Zoho ManageEngine in 2010, and expressed optimism about opportunities open by AI in the SaaS. Industry watchers call Girish’s stepping down as the end of an era. It is important to note that Sridhar Vembu stepped down as the chief executive of the Zoho Corp this January, after two and half decades.
