Freshworks Taps AI-Savvy CMO to Accelerate Growth and Sharpen Focus

SAN MATEO, CA – January 07, 2026 – In a strategic move signaling a deeper commitment to an AI-driven future, Freshworks Inc. (NASDAQ: FRSH) has appointed Kady Srinivasan as its new Chief Marketing Officer. The appointment, effective today, places a leader with a formidable track record of scaling high-growth SaaS companies at the helm of Freshworks' global marketing, as the firm aims to solidify its position in the competitive customer and employee experience software market.

Srinivasan will report to Mika Yamamoto, Freshworks' Chief Integrated Customer Growth Officer, a structure that underscores the company's focus on a unified go-to-market strategy. She is tasked with amplifying the brand's mission to deliver "uncomplicated service software" supercharged by artificial intelligence.

An Architect of Transformational Growth

Srinivasan joins Freshworks with over 15 years of leadership experience and a reputation for engineering significant, measurable growth. Her tenure at previous high-profile tech firms is marked by impressive metrics that Freshworks will look to replicate.

Most recently, as CMO at Lightspeed Commerce, a global payments platform, Srinivasan's leadership was credited with helping the company achieve its first profitable quarter in two decades. During her time there, she reportedly doubled market share in key regions, quadrupled marketing efficiency, and helped drive 25% year-over-year growth. This was achieved by strategically pivoting the business to focus on an Ideal Customer Profile (ICP), a move that demonstrates a keen understanding of market segmentation and targeted growth.

Before Lightspeed, Srinivasan served as SVP, Global Head of Marketing at Klaviyo, a marketing automation platform. There, she oversaw a period of explosive expansion, where the company's Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) nearly tripled from approximately $150 million to $600 million. As Klaviyo's first global marketing head, she scaled the team from 15 to 150 people, led a comprehensive rebrand, and was instrumental in launching the company’s enterprise go-to-market motion while growing its product-led growth (PLG) business by 50% annually. Her experience also includes key roles at Dropbox during its IPO journey and at Owlet Baby Care, where she helped scale revenue from $30 million to $100 million.

"Kady’s mix of experience is a strong fit for Freshworks," said Mika Yamamoto in the company's official announcement. "She has successfully led large-scale, sustained marketing transformations and built high-performing global marketing engines that drive predictable, measurable growth across PLG, inbound, and enterprise go-to-market models."

Doubling Down on an AI-First Future

Srinivasan's appointment is not merely a change in leadership; it is a clear indicator of Freshworks' strategic priorities. Her most recent role as CMO at You.com, an AI search infrastructure company, provides her with direct, relevant experience in the very technology that Freshworks is betting its future on.

The company, which serves nearly 75,000 customers including Bridgestone and Sony Music, has been aggressively integrating AI into its product suite. Recent announcements have included new AI features for its Freshservice and Freddy AI platforms, the launch of the Freshdesk Command Center, and an AI-focused acquisition of incident management firm FireHydrant. This push is backed by strong financials, with the company boasting gross profit margins of nearly 85% and recent revenue growth of over 18%.

Srinivasan’s arrival is timed to capitalize on this momentum. Her task will be to craft a narrative that cuts through the noise of a crowded market where every competitor is touting its AI capabilities.

"I'm thrilled to join Freshworks at this pivotal moment where AI defines the future of service," Srinivasan stated. "Freshworks is uniquely positioned to lead this shift by delivering uncomplicated, AI-assisted solutions that cut through complexity and genuinely serve the customer." This statement highlights the intended market positioning: leveraging powerful AI not to add complexity, but to simplify service for both customers and employees.

The Integrated Growth Engine

The decision to have the CMO report to a Chief Integrated Customer Growth Officer is a significant organizational design choice. This structure, less common than the traditional CMO reporting to a CEO, signals a deliberate effort to break down silos between marketing, sales, customer support, and customer success.

Under Mika Yamamoto, who oversees all these functions, Freshworks is building a holistic growth engine where every stage of the customer lifecycle is interconnected. Marketing is not an isolated function focused solely on top-of-funnel lead generation; instead, it is woven into the fabric of the entire customer journey. This integrated model is designed to create a seamless customer experience, from the first marketing touchpoint through to sales, onboarding, and long-term success and support.

For Srinivasan, this means her strategies will be directly informed by data and feedback from sales and support, and the success of her initiatives will be measured not just by marketing-qualified leads, but by their impact on customer retention, expansion, and overall revenue growth. Yamamoto’s praise for Srinivasan’s customer-centric values suggests a strong alignment on this integrated philosophy. "On top of her exceptional leadership qualities and proven business results, Kady upholds our value of putting customer needs at the center of brand building,” Yamamoto noted.

Navigating a Competitive AI Landscape

Freshworks operates in a fiercely competitive environment. Enterprise software giants like Salesforce, with its Einstein AI platform, and customer service leaders like Zendesk and HubSpot, are all investing heavily in AI to automate workflows and enhance agent productivity. In this arena, a compelling and differentiated brand story is as crucial as the underlying technology.

The hiring of a CMO with Srinivasan's specific blend of skills—proven growth acceleration, deep SaaS and PLG experience, and recent immersion in a pure-play AI company—is a strategic response to these market dynamics. The modern tech CMO is expected to be a growth driver who is fluent in data, technology, and finance. They must not only build a brand but also demonstrate a clear return on investment and contribute directly to the bottom line.

By bringing in Srinivasan, Freshworks is not just filling a C-suite position. The company is acquiring a leader purpose-built for the current era of enterprise software, where success is defined by efficient growth, product-led adoption, and a clear, compelling vision for the role of artificial intelligence in solving real-world business problems. Her leadership will be critical as Freshworks strives to distinguish its "uncomplicated" approach in an increasingly complex and AI-saturated market.