Who is Dennis Woodside? Meet the new Freshworks CEO

Dennis Woodside, newly-appointed CEO, Freshworks

Nasdaq-listed software-as-a-service (SaaS) firm Freshworks on May 1 said that Dennis Woodside would take charge as chief executive officer (CEO) and president. He succeeds storied founder Girish Mathrubootham who will now transition from CEO to a new role of executive chairman. Both will continue to stay on the company’s board as directors.

Even as employees and the wider SaaS ecosystem absorb the developments, here’s a primer on the new Freshworks CEO, Dennis Woodside. It is going to be an interesting phase for Woodside as he fills the shoes of the prominent SaaS founder, even as he raises the confidence of investors and the board. But, first:

Who is Dennis Woodside?

Dennis Woodside joined Freshworks’ executive leadership team as president on September 1, 2022. He reported to then Freshworks CEO and founder Girish Mathrubootham. As president, Woodside was responsible for leading Freshworks’ global business operations and strategy.

• Prior to Freshworks, Woodside served as president of Impossible Foods in California, where he oversaw operations, manufacturing, supply chain, sales, marketing, HR and other functions for more than three years. He grew the company’s revenue from low $10s of millions to mid $100s of millions over 3.5 years, according to his LinkedIn profile.
• Before Impossible Foods, he was the chief operating officer of Dropbox, where he was responsible for all customer-facing functions and revenue generation for four years. He scaled the SaaS company from a revenue of around $300 million to $1.4 billion in a span of 4.5 years, according to his LinkedIn account. He also was instrumental in taking the company public.
• Woodside also held various sales roles at Google over nine years, from 2003 to 2012, including managing director of emerging markets, vice president of sales in the UK and president, Americas, where he oversaw an $18 billion advertising sales business.
• From May 2012 to April 2014, Woodside served as CEO for Motorola Mobility LLC, reporting directly to Larry Page after the company was acquired by Google.
• Woodside served on the board of the American Red Cross and was previously on the board of ServiceNow from 2018 to 2022.

“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 onboard 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 on the CEO transition.

“Dennis has a deep understanding of Freshworks’ business, customers and our 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.

Also read: Freshworks reports a 20% YoY jump in revenue to $165 million in Q1 of 2024, net loss down by 44% to $24 million

Woodside on his new role

“As I step into the role of CEO, I am deeply honoured to build upon Girish's remarkable legacy,” said Woodside. “What he has created is truly special. Our mission and strategy remain the same. We stand before extraordinary opportunities and have the right foundation to make it possible - a winning combination of our strong focus on delighting customers and our product portfolio and innovation. I’m committed and excited to continue our journey of growth," he said.

“We stand before extraordinary opportunities and have the right foundation to make them possible - a winning combination of our focus on delighting customers and our product innovation. I’m committed and excited to continue our journey of growth toward becoming a $1 billion revenue company and beyond,” he added on his LinkedIn.

Woodside holds a B.S. in Industrial Relations from Cornell University and a J.D. from Stanford Law School. While not at work, Woodside loves running and is a triathlon athlete, too.