Freshworks Names Ryan Manning CPTO, Merges Product & Eng
30 Jul 2026
Freshworks has appointed Ryan Manning as its new Chief Product and Technology Officer, effective August 10. The move consolidates the company's product and engineering functions under a single leader for the first time, reporting directly to CEO Dennis Woodside.
What's changing
Manning succeeds Srini Raghavan, who joined Freshworks as Chief Product Officer in December 2024 and is now leaving the company. No explanation has been given for Raghavan's departure. Under the new structure, Murali Swaminathan continues as Chief Technology Officer but will now report to Manning rather than holding a separate reporting line.
Manning brings a mix of startup and enterprise software experience: he co-founded FreeAgent CRM, which has since evolved into Servis.ai, and has also worked at ServiceNow. Details on his specific role or tenure at ServiceNow were not disclosed.
Why the reorg
CEO Dennis Woodside framed the merger of product and engineering as a way to "move with more speed and less friction," pointing to AI's growing impact on how quickly customers adopt new product capabilities. Manning echoed that positioning, saying he believes Freshworks is "uniquely positioned to lead the shift," combining capability with rapid impact.
The numbers behind the move
The leadership change comes as Freshworks posts continued top-line growth alongside a widening bottom line:
- Q1 2026 revenue: $228.6 million, up 16% from Q1 2025's $196.3 million
- Q1 2026 net loss: $4.8 million, compared to a $1.3 million net loss in Q1 2025
No stated reason was given for the increased loss despite the revenue growth, leaving open questions about whether it reflects higher investment in AI capabilities, cost pressures, or both.
Risks and open questions
Combining product and engineering under one executive could introduce integration or transition friction, at least in the near term. Leadership turnover in a key product role — twice in under two years — may also disrupt continuity in product strategy. And it remains unclear whether this reorganization extends to other executive roles beyond the Manning-Swaminathan reporting change.
Why founders should care
For early-stage founders, this reshuffle is a useful data point rather than a definitive signal. It's plausible that unifying product and engineering under one leader reflects a broader industry pattern of companies restructuring to accelerate AI-driven product cycles — a trend worth watching if you're scaling a product organization. The widening net loss alongside steady revenue growth may also be worth noting when benchmarking your own burn rate against growth-stage peers, though it's not clear from available information whether this reflects deliberate investment or rising costs. Finally, Manning's blend of startup-founder and enterprise-scale experience could be instructive for founders considering similar hybrid hires as they build out leadership teams that need to balance agility with scale.
Sources differ on: No conflicting information was identified in this report.