GET TO KNOW
the benefit of the
people in my team and the wider business.
What do you think will emerge as the
technology trend of 2020 and why?
In 2020 we will see continued and
substantial growth around conversational
UIs. Consumers are increasingly wanting
real-time answers from beautifully simple
software. They have a preference for
Chat software, and are happy dealing
with Chatbot and AI platforms. However,
consumers now have more choice than
ever and brand loyalty is low, therefore
organisations need to balance technology
with service delivery to improve the customer
experience and enhance loyalty to a brand.
We will also see greater use of messaging
platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook and
Instagram for businesses.
What do you currently identify as
the major areas of investment in
your industry?
Freshworks is seeing more and more of
its competitors talking about the Master
Customer Record – the basic unit of
information regarding any customer that
resides across the multiple communication
channels that you engage with your
customers on. Today, companies can
augment customer record information with
new forms of data, including blog post data
or profile information from social media
platforms. It really is a game-changer
when it comes to delivering the next level
of customer experience and insights.
Fortunately, Freshworks has an advantage
in this regard as it’s something that we
have been doing from day one. With our
early focus on the customer record, we can
provide our customers with a single view
of their end-users, enabling them to deliver
greater customer satisfaction scores.
How do you deal with stress and
unwind outside of the office?
First and foremost, I spend as much time
as possible with my family. I have two boys
who are 10 and 8, so they keep me very
busy. Working out is also important when it
comes to dealing with stress and unwinding
and I have set myself the challenge of
completing a sub 40-minute 10k and a sub
seven-minute 2k row this year. As previously
mentioned, I am also a qualified FA football
coach and run the local U10 football team,
which combines my passions for family,
football and fitness.
If you could go back and change one
career decision, what would it be?
There is nothing in particular that I would
do differently. I have thoroughly enjoyed
my career and there certainly isn’t anything
I regret. My time spent travelling has given
me the ambition to work abroad in my
career and face the challenge of running
and growing teams in different areas of the
globe. This is something that I would be
keen to continue doing.
What are the region-specific
challenges when implementing
new technologies in Europe?
Thankfully most of the software
deployment and application usage in
Europe is relatively similar across countries.
The challenges are presented in the
“
CONSUMERS
NOW HAVE MORE
CHOICE THAN
EVER AND BRAND
LOYALTY IS LOW.
different cultural ways of working and how
customers like to receive their support.
Thankfully at Freshworks, we have a diverse
team across a number of regions in Europe,
so we are able to tailor our approaches to
support the needs of local customers.
What changes to your job role have
you seen in the last year and how do
you see these developing in the next
12 months?
Freshworks is an extremely fast-moving
organisation and growing incredibly quickly.
As a result, change has been constant and
I fully expect this to continue in 2020. One
of the main challenges of such exciting
growth is keeping the company culture
aligned as we transition into a larger, more
multinational organisation and this will be
one of my key objectives as manager. We
are having fewer dealings with our head
offices in Chennai and San Mateo and our
matrix organisation is functioning on its own
European level, which is one of the main
changes our team here is embracing.
What advice would you offer
somebody aspiring to obtain a
C-level position in your industry?
Firstly, you must be able to adapt to work in
any environment across the many different
teams, whether it be in an emerging market
or San Francisco. Secondly, you must be
able to keep up with the pace of changing
technologies and competitors. If you
don’t, you will be left behind. Finally, you
must have a passion for delivering WOW
moments to clients, prospective clients and
of course, your colleagues. This is how we
differentiate ourselves in the market. If you
can combine these areas successfully, you
have a great chance! •
82 INTELLIGENTCIO www.intelligentcio.com