Freshworks sees churn in top level as HR, marketing chiefs call it quits

Freshworks

Nasdaq-listed software as a service (SaaS) company Freshworks is in the throes of a churn in the top level exits with Chief Human Resource Officer Suman Gopalan and Chief Marketing Officer Stacey Epstein putting in their papers, two sources told Moneycontrol. 

"This is not a layoff but indicates the state and level of cost-cutting that is going on in SaaS firms... Their last working day will be September 15," a source close to the development said.

CHRO Gopalan confirmed the developments.

"Having gone through this amazing and intense journey over the last 5 and half years, I felt it was the right time for me to step out of my comfort zone and embark on a new adventure," Gopalan told Moneycontrol.

Freshworks is looking to appoint new CHRO and CMO in the coming months.

"After years of being an integral part of Freshworks, Suman and Stacey have independently decided to move on from Freshworks. For the last few months, they’ve continued their responsibilities while supporting the searches to find strong replacements and ensure seamless transitions for their teams," Freshworks said in a statement responding to Moneycontrol's queries.

While the company has appointed a new CHRO it is yet to find a new CMO, sources said.

"We’ve already selected a new CHRO who will start at the end of August and we’re actively evaluating CMO candidates. We are grateful for their years of hard work taking us through IPO and life as a public company, and the foundation Suman and Stacey have established for the future success of Freshworks," Freshworks' statement said.

This comes a week after Freshworks reported that its revenue had increased 19 percent to $145.1 million for the quarter ended June, and raised its forecast for the whole of 2023, saying it will hit an adjusted operating profit of $28 million.

The company's co-founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Shan Krishnaswamy left the company in September 2022 amid a management rejig, the software-as-a-service (SaaS) major said on March 8.

The Captable media was the first to report the development.

In June, Freshworks announced its second round of layoffs which impacted senior-level employees like Senior directors, product managers, and senior vice presidents of teams like GTM (go-to-market).