Freshworks strengthens top deck, appoints info and security chiefs

US business software provider Freshworks Inc. said it has appointed Prasad Ramakrishnan as information chief and Shivanath Somanathan as information security chief.

Ramakrishnan will be responsible for the growth of the technology infrastructure within Freshworks, the firm said in a statement. He will drive the implementation and management of internal business systems, business intelligence, analytics and infotech infrastructure, the statement added.

Before this, Ramakrishnan served as info chief at HotChalk and Veeva, which were early adopters of Freshworks’ infotech service management offering called Freshservice. Ramakrishnan holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and a diploma in business administration (marketing) from Madras University (Chennai), a master’s degree in computer applications from Anna University (Chennai) and an MBA degree in global management from the University of Phoenix (Arizona).

Somanathan brings more than two decades of industry experience spanning the information assurance, business security and cyber resilience sectors. He previously served as info security chief for Tata Communications’ India operations.

Somanathan will be responsible for info security, governance, risk and compliance related to product development and production infrastructure at Freshworks. He holds a master’s degree in cyber law and security from National Law University, Jodhpur, besides postgraduate diplomas in international business from Pondicherry University and digital business from Columbia University (New York).

Earlier, Freshworks had hired David Thompson as chief marketing officer and Suman Gopalan as chief human resources officer in September, and Suresh Seshadri as chief financial officer in July, the statement added.

In July, VCCircle reported Freshworks had raised $100 million in a Series G round round led by global venture capital firms Accel Partners and Sequoia Capital.

Freshworks, formerly known as Freshdesk, was founded in 2010 by Girish Mathrubootham and Shan Krishnasamy and back then it offered only one customer service software product.

In June last year, Freshdesk rebranded itself as Freshworks to position itself as a multi-product brand. Earlier, Freshdesk’s flagship product was also the name of the company.

Freshworks’ suite of business software products includes Freshdesk, customer relationship management software and other new launches including infotech support and call-centre services.

Freshworks now has more than 100,000 clients and 1,000 employees.

The company has global offices in India, the UK, Australia, and Germany, and counts among its customers Bridgestone, Hugo Boss, University of Pennsylvania, Toshiba and Cisco.

Freshworks, which recently launched an app marketplace for developers and clients, competes with firms such as homegrown Zoho and US-based global player Salesforce.