Freshworks founder Girish Mathrubootham is taking yet another step away from an official management role at the SaaS firm.
Freshworks on Friday announced that Mathrubootham is retiring soon from the position of Executive Chairman of the Freshworks Board.
New Chair named
Beginning December 1, our current Lead Independent Director, Roxanne Austin, will serve as the new Chair, Freshworks said in a social media post.
“G’s passion and entrepreneurial courage led to the creation of this special company and we honor his decision to step away from an official Freshworks role to spend more time mentoring and investing in founders just like him through the Together Fund,” the company added.
Taking to the social media platform X, Mathrubootham said that after a period of 15 years, he was stepping down as Executive Chairman of Freshworks, effective from December 1.
Global journey
“What started in Chennai grew into a global SaaS company on Nasdaq — thanks to an amazing team & customers. Freshworks will always be Kudumba and thanks to the incredible people and culture, it’s been the journey of a lifetime,” he said.
This decision comes over a year after the announcement made by Freshworks in May 2024 that Dennis Woodside would take over as CEO from Mathrubootham, and the latter would be Executive Chairman.
Mathrubootham had then told Businessline in an interview that he continues to be an executive chairman on the board and will closely work on Freshworks’ product journey.
Future focus
However, Mathrubootham said on X on Friday that he will be focusing on Together Fund & AI startups and “working towards India’s dream of becoming a Product Nation.”
The entrepreneur could not be reached at the time of writing.
SEC filing
Freshworks, which is listed in the US, said in a SEC filing: “On September 3, 2025, Rathna Girish Mathrubootham provided notice to Freshworks Inc. that he will retire from his roles as Executive Chairman, a Class III member of the Company’s Board of Directors and Chairman of the Board effective December 1, 2025, in order to devote his full-time efforts to Together Fund, the venture fund he co-founded.
Following such notice, the board appointed Roxanne Austin, Lead Independent Director, to serve as Chairperson of the Board beginning December 1, 2025. Ms. Austin has served as a member of our board of directors and as lead independent director since May 2021.”
Clarification
Further, the company added in the official filing that Mathrubootham’s resignation was “not the result of any disagreement on matters relating to the Company’s operations, policies, or practices.”
Published on September 5, 2025