Tiger Global-backed Clevertap CEO Sidharth Malik steps down, co-founder Sunil Thomas back at helm

Sidharth Malik, Former CEO CleverTap

Sidharth Malik has stepped down as the global CEO of customer engagement platform CleverTap, as the company’s cofounder, Sunil Thomas, returned to lead as the chief executive.

The latest development comes at a time when the Tiger Global and Peak XV Partners-backed SaaS firm is planning to relocate its headquarters from San Francisco to India and is talking to advisors about the potential move, Moneycontrol reported in October.

Malik was appointed as the global CEO in 2021. He brought with him experience from his previous roles at Freshworks, Akamai Technologies, and global giants like Microsoft, IBM, and Salesforce. During the period, Thomas assumed the executive chairman’s role with Malik taking up the leadership position to drive the US-headquartered firm’s international growth.

Before joining CleverTap, Malik served as the chief revenue officer at Freshworks until October 2023, and later took on the role of the chairman of Freshworks India.

CleverTap confirmed the developments to Moneycontrol. "Sidharth Malik stepped down in July 2024 due to personal reasons. We are grateful for his contributions over the last three years and wish him the best in his future endeavors. Sunil Thomas, CleverTap’s co-founder and executive chairman, has assumed the role of CEO,” the company said in an official response to Moneycontrol’s queries.

“Since the founders have always been closely involved in the business, this transition has been seamless, and we remain committed to serving our customers and stakeholders with the same dedication as always," the statement added.

Stepping into his next phase, Malik has taken over the role of a SaaS advisor board member at Westbridge Capital besides his ongoing role as a non-executive director on the board of Zacco India since 2017.

Additional plans, however, remain undisclosed.

Founded in Mumbai in 2013 by Jain, Sunil Thomas and Suresh Kondamudi, CleverTap is headquartered in Mountain View, California. It is a customer engagement and retention Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform that leverages machine learning and artificial intelligence to offer a comprehensive user engagement suite that enables brands to build valuable, long-term relationships with their customers.

The company had a successful funding round in 2022, during which CleverTap raised $105 million in a Series D round led by global investment group CDPQ, along with participation from IIFL’s Asset Management Company (AMC) Tech Fund and existing investors Tiger Global and Peak XV Partners.

The firm’s valuation has now exceeded $775 million since with about $217 million capital raised to date, Tracxn data showed.

In FY23, Clevertap recorded a 46 percent increase in revenue from operations to Rs 405 crore from Rs 276.93 crore in FY22. However, profit after tax (PAT) declined 42 percent to Rs 30.45 crore in FY23 from Rs 52.22 crore in FY22. Its FY24 results are yet to be disclosed.

The firm recently roped in former Coinswitch executive Zeeshan Ramlan as the global vice-president and head of HR partnering and operations.