# Dennis Woodside

> Dennis Woodside is the CEO and President of Freshworks, a Nasdaq-listed SaaS company serving 75,000 customers worldwide with AI-powered business software. A Cornell rower turned Stanford lawyer turned McKinsey consultant turned tech executive, he has spent two decades building and scaling iconic companies - leading Google's EMEA sales engine, running Motorola Mobility after its $12.5B acquisition by Google, scaling Dropbox from $250M to a $1B+ IPO, and betting on plant-based food at Impossible Foods before landing at Freshworks in 2022. Off the screen, he is a 15-time Ironman Triathlon finisher who qualified for the World Championship in Kona, Hawaii.

- **Role:** CEO and President at Freshworks
- **Organizations:** Freshworks, Google, Motorola Mobility, Dropbox, Impossible Foods, McKinsey & Company, ServiceNow (board), American Red Cross (board)
- **From:** Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Bachelor's degree, Cornell University, Juris Doctor (J.D.), Stanford Law School
- **Known for:** Grew Dropbox revenue from $250M to $1.3B and led the company's $1B+ IPO in 2018, Opened 13 international offices across EMEA for Google, Led Motorola Mobility as CEO following Google's $12.5B acquisition

## Career timeline

- **1991** — Graduated Cornell University with two rowing varsity letters
- **1995** — Graduated Stanford Law School; clerked for Judge Dennis Jacobs, US Court of Appeals 2nd Circuit
- **1996** — Joined Munger, Tolles & Olson law firm in Los Angeles
- **1998** — Joined McKinsey & Company Los Angeles office, leading strategy, technology, and media projects
- **2003** — Joined Google, initially leading sales operations across EMEA; opened 13 international offices
- **2008** — Led thousands-strong sales teams at Google through the financial crisis
- **2012** — Became CEO of Motorola Mobility after Google's $12.5B acquisition
- **2014** — Joined Dropbox as COO; grew revenue from $250M to $1.3B and led successful $1B+ IPO in 2018
- **2016** — Joined American Red Cross board; set personal best Ironman time of 9:22 at Arizona
- **2017** — Competed at Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii after qualifying
- **2018** — Joined ServiceNow board; departed Dropbox after successful IPO
- **2019** — Joined Impossible Foods as President, scaling the plant-based food startup
- **2022** — Joined Freshworks as President, leading global business operations and strategy
- **2024** — Became CEO and President of Freshworks, succeeding founder Girish Mathrubootham
- **2025** — Led Freshworks to full-year profitability: $191.4M net income, $223M adjusted free cash flow
- **2026** — Spoke at Davos about AI scaling; announced $100M AI ARR target; Freshworks cuts 500 jobs as AI reshapes operations

## Achievements

- Grew Dropbox revenue from $250M to $1.3B and led the company's $1B+ IPO in 2018
- Opened 13 international offices across EMEA for Google
- Led Motorola Mobility as CEO following Google's $12.5B acquisition
- 15-time Ironman Triathlon finisher with personal best of 9:22 at Arizona Ironman 2016
- Qualified for Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii in 2017
- Led Freshworks to full-year profitability in 2025 with $191.4M net income
- Built Freshworks AI business to 6,000+ paying AI customers and $25M+ ARR for Freddy AI
- Drove Freshworks to 75,000 customers worldwide with AI deflecting 50-60% of support queries
- Board member at ServiceNow and American Red Cross

## Latest updates

- **2026-05** — Freshworks cuts 500 jobs (11% of workforce) as AI reshapes operations; over half of company code now written by AI
- **2026-05** — Fortune article: Woodside argues agile enterprises are winning the AI race by acting faster than incumbents
- **2026-03** — Declares Freshworks 'the attacker who's taking share' in aggressive positioning against legacy SaaS players
- **2026-01** — Spoke at World Economic Forum Davos 2026 on AI scaling for mid-market companies; announced 75,000 customers and 6,000+ paying for AI
- **2025-12** — Led Freshworks to full-year profitability: $191.4M net income and $223M adjusted free cash flow for fiscal 2025
- **2025-07** — Freddy AI crosses $25M ARR, doubling year-over-year, with 5x price increase to $0.50 per interaction
- **2024-05** — Officially became CEO of Freshworks, succeeding founder Girish Mathrubootham who became Executive Chairman

## Links

- Website: https://freshworks.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dennis-woodside-341302
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/dmwoodside

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/dennis-woodside
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-30