executive chairman Archives

Singapore – Cloud-based SaaS company Freshworks Inc. has announced key position changes, with Dennis Woodside appointed as the new CEO and president to succeed Girish Mathrubootham, the company’s founder and current CEO.

Woodside brings great leadership experience to his new role. He joined Freshworks as president in September 2022 and since then has accelerated the company’s investments in enterprise-grade products and driven increased focus on the growth of mid-market and enterprise customers.

Prior to joining Freshworks, Woodside also served as the chief operating officer of Dropbox, helping grow revenue from $250m to $1.3b and ultimately raising over $1b in a successful IPO in 2018. He also held various sales and strategy leadership roles at Google from 2003 to 2014, including serving as CEO of Motorola Mobility after Google acquired the company in 2012.

Additionally, before his long tenure at Google, Woodside was a consultant at McKinsey & Co. He currently serves on the board of the Boys & Girls Club of the Peninsula in California and previously served on the board of the American Red Cross from 2016 to 2022 and on the board of ServiceNow from 2018 to 2022.

Effective immediately, Woodside’s appointment comes as current CEO and founder Mathrubootham moves to the new role of executive chairman.

Since founding Freshworks in 2010, Mathrubootham has transformed Freshworks from a fledgling startup in Chennai into a leading SaaS company headquartered in San Mateo, with products that make it easy for every business to delight their employees and customers. He steered Freshworks through an IPO on Nasdaq in September 2021, making Freshworks the first India-born SaaS firm to trade on a US exchange.

Under Mathrubootham’s leadership, the business has grown to serve more than 67,000 customers globally, powered by approximately 4,900 talented employees operating globally in 13 locations.

Now, in his new role as executive chairman, Mathrubootham will remain highly engaged with Freshworks’ product vision, customers, and employees. He will work across the company to bring long-term vision to life and consult with Woodside on strategic decisions.

The transition frees him up to spend more time with Freshworks’ product teams in India and with customers globally and to stay engaged with other external stakeholders.

Mathrubootham will remain the chairman of Freshworks’ board of directors, and Woodside will also remain a member of the same board.

Speaking on the transition, Mathrubootham said, “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 on board 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.”

He added, “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.”

Meanwhile, on his appointment, Woodside shared, “As I step into the role of CEO, I am deeply honoured to build upon Girish’s remarkable legacy. 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 them 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.”

Vietnam – Vietnam-based digital bank Timo has announced two new key leadership appointments. These include Henry Nguyen, the new executive chairman, and Jonas Eichhorst, the new CEO and will retain his position on the board of directors.

As executive chairman, Nguyen will continue on working on strategy and planning, as well as regulatory and external relations, including partnerships and strategic alliances. In addition to Timo, Nguyen also serves as chairman of Phoenix Holdings, whose portfolio holdings include strategic partners of Timo, including VietCredit and Kredivo, Viet Capital Securities, and Viet Capital Bank.

Meanwhile, in Eichhorst’s new leadership role, he will continue to work closely with Nguyen and the senior leadership team at Timo. Over the past 15 years, Eichhorst has supported the development of a wide range of high-scale products and businesses across various emerging markets. Having first joined Timo’s Board in 2020, he took on the CFO position in 2021 before now being promoted to CEO.

Timo said that the change also marks the two-year milestone of Timo’s relaunch of service under its long-term partnership with Viet Capital Bank.

Commenting on his appointment, Nguyen said, “While my work at Timo will remain unchanged and uninterrupted, I am extremely excited about Jonas’ promotion to CEO. It reflects all of the hard work and leadership he has exhibited at Timo so far while also expressing the potent and high expectations we all have for him.”

Meanwhile, Eichhorst said, “Timo has had an incredible journey since its founding seven years ago to become the most trusted digital banking brand in Vietnam. We have a unique opportunity to really set the benchmark for digital banking in a market that is quickly developing. Ultimately, our customer’s success in moving, managing, growing, accessing and protecting their money drives our success.”

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Malaysian theme park developer Sim Leisure Group (SLG) has announced Phil Whittaker as its new chief executive officer. As part of the announcement, Sim Choo Kheng has been also appointed as the new executive chairman.

Whittaker, who prior to this appointment served as strategic advisor and more recently as commercial director to the group, carries with him more than 25 years of knowledge and expertise in developing, launching, managing and restructuring sales, marketing, commercial and operations to deliver growth in several notable travel, leisure and entertainment-related organisations in Australia, Malaysia and Singapore.

Speaking on his appointment, he said, “I am truly honoured to take on this appointment as CEO at Sim Leisure, as I am humbled to lead such a globally recognised and respected brand and build on the innovation and success that Sim has achieved as one of the industry’s leading leisure entrepreneurs and operators. I would like to thank Sim and the team for their faith and trust in me as I continue to leverage on my skills and experience to support and help to realise the ongoing expansion plans of the Sim Leisure Group.”

Meanwhile, Kheng will also oversee the Group’s strategic direction and the expansion of Sim Leisure’s brands, including the design and development of new projects locally and internationally, while liaising with key stakeholders.

Kheng said, “In many ways, these strategic appointments can be deemed a pivotal one in our mission to become the premier themed leisure company across the globe, as we train our targets and artillery on world domination! Those who know me can attest to the fact that I like to accomplish the impossible. So, we set out to make the impossible a reality, with our unique products where fun is measured in ‘smiles per hour’.”

In the near future, SLG is also planning to introduce greater industry representation on the board to lend their expertise and help champion SLG’s industry representation in several markets around the world.