Freshworks hires Kady Srinivasan as AI era marketing chief

Freshworks has appointed Kady Srinivasan as Chief Marketing Officer, handing the SaaS marketing veteran responsibility for its global marketing strategy as the software group adjusts its positioning around artificial intelligence.

Srinivasan brings more than 15 years of marketing leadership at software and digital firms. She will report to Mika Yamamoto, Chief Integrated Customer Growth Officer, who oversees marketing alongside customer support and the small business and commercial sales and customer success teams.

The appointment comes as Freshworks expands its use of AI across customer and employee service products and adapts its go-to-market approach across self-service and sales-led channels. The company sells customer experience and employee experience software to around 75,000 organisations worldwide.

AI-era marketing

Srinivasan has been an active commentator on how AI changes marketing roles and organisational design. She has argued that AI-driven buying journeys and fragmented marketing channels require new skills and measurement frameworks for marketing leaders.

Yamamoto said the company sees alignment between that perspective and Freshworks' current phase of growth. "Kady's mix of experience is a strong fit for Freshworks," said Yamamoto, Chief Integrated Customer Growth Officer, Freshworks. "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. 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."

Freshworks positions its software as uncomplicated and AI-assisted. The group is competing in a crowded segment against both specialist SaaS vendors and broader enterprise platforms.

Growth-track record

Srinivasan joins Freshworks from AI search firm You.com, where she was Chief Marketing Officer. She previously held senior roles at Lightspeed Commerce, Klaviyo, Owlet Baby Care and earlier in her career at Dropbox.

Her period at Lightspeed Commerce covered a phase of expansion and renewed focus on profitability at the payments platform provider. The company recorded market share gains in several key geographies and sharpened its marketing spend discipline during that time.

Srinivasan's record there included a doubling of market share in selected regions, a fourfold increase in marketing efficiency and contribution to 25% year-on-year revenue growth at scale. Lightspeed reported its first profitable quarter in about two decades during her tenure.

Before Lightspeed, Srinivasan served as SVP, Global Head of Marketing at Klaviyo, the marketing automation company. She also held dual Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Revenue Officer responsibilities at Owlet Baby Care, which combines marketing leadership with direct oversight of revenue generation.

Mandate at Freshworks

Freshworks said Srinivasan will lead efforts to amplify its brand and refine its global marketing engine across product-led growth, inbound marketing and more traditional enterprise sales motions. The company has been investing in AI across its product set and seeks to differentiate around ease of use in customer and employee service.

Her role will sit alongside Yamamoto's wider remit across customer acquisition and retention functions. The structure places marketing, support and commercial sales organisations under a single executive leader.

Freshworks has targeted both mid-market customers and larger enterprises, while maintaining a self-service model for smaller firms. Analysts view alignment between product, marketing and customer success functions as increasingly important in SaaS as vendors face longer buying cycles and tighter software budgets.

Advisory roles

Alongside her executive work, Srinivasan acts as a Venture Advisor at Relay Ventures. She advises several high-growth AI-focused start-ups, including HighTouch and Doss. She holds an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a BE from RV College of Engineering.

Her experience with AI-centric businesses and start-ups reflects growing demand for marketing leaders who understand both data-driven growth models and brand building in competitive software markets.

Commenting on her move, Srinivasan said she sees the service software sector at an inflection point as AI tools mature and customer expectations shift. "I'm thrilled to join Freshworks at this pivotal moment where AI defines the future of service," said Srinivasan. "Freshworks is uniquely positioned to lead this shift by delivering uncomplicated, AI-assisted solutions that cut through complexity and genuinely serve the customer. I look forward to working with this talented team to amplify our brand and accelerate growth through this efficient and superior path."