Freshworks names Vahalia to lead global partner push

Freshworks has appointed Kuntal Vahalia as Senior Vice President, Global Channels and Alliances, as the software company sharpens its focus on larger customers and partner-led sales.

Vahalia will lead global partner strategy, enablement and execution, reporting to Chief Revenue Officer Ian Tickle. He will be responsible for expanding relationships with global system integrators and supporting Freshworks' push further into mid-market and enterprise accounts.

The appointment reflects a shift in emphasis for Freshworks' channel operation as a growing share of revenue comes from larger customers. The company ended 2025 with more than 1,500 customers contributing over USD $100,000 in annual recurring revenue, up 28% year on year. More than 60% of annual recurring revenue now comes from mid-market and enterprise segments.

Freshworks is also placing greater weight on its employee experience business, which includes IT Service Management, IT Asset Management, IT Operations Management and Enterprise Service Management. That business passed USD $500 million in annual recurring revenue by the fourth quarter of 2025, up 26% from a year earlier.

Vahalia joins with two decades of experience in channel partnerships and software go-to-market roles. Most recently, he served as Senior Vice President of Global Channels and Alliances at Anaplan, where he reshaped the partner model and increased partner-led revenue. He has also held leadership roles at Salesforce, MuleSoft and ThoughtSpot.

Partner push

Freshworks is seeking to deepen ties with global system integrators as it targets a larger share of enterprise spending. These partners can help software vendors enter bigger accounts, add implementation and advisory services, and build repeatable industry sales motions across regions.

For Freshworks, the strategy reflects a changing customer mix. The company built much of its profile on service software designed for simpler deployment and ease of use, but recent figures show greater reliance on larger contracts and more complex buying environments. That typically requires broader partner support, especially where procurement, systems integration and change management play a bigger role.

Tickle said the appointment is central to that effort. "Partners are a core pillar of our growth strategy as we continue to scale upmarket and expand globally," said Ian Tickle, Chief Revenue Officer, Freshworks. "Kuntal brings deep ecosystem experience that will help us expand into larger markets and build even stronger relationships with global system integrators. His proven ability to scale partner-led growth makes him ideal to lead this next chapter for Freshworks."

Enterprise focus

Vahalia will work closely with go-to-market, sales and operations teams to strengthen channel programmes and drive growth through strategic alliances. The role is tied to three company priorities: moving upmarket, expanding in employee experience software, and using global system integrator partnerships to extend reach into enterprise accounts.

The emphasis on employee experience software is notable because the category often sits closer to core IT operations and service management budgets than front-office software. As deals grow larger, technology suppliers often rely more heavily on services partners to support implementation, integration and customer expansion.

That helps explain why Freshworks is aligning channel leadership with its enterprise sales plans. A stronger partner model can provide access to customers that prefer to buy software through established advisory and integration relationships rather than directly from the vendor.

Vahalia outlined his view of the opportunity in a statement accompanying the appointment. "Freshworks is the strategic solution partners are looking for today: profitable, high-growth, with a best-in-class EX platform and AI grounded in real domain depth," said Kuntal Vahalia, Senior Vice President, Global Channels and Alliances, Freshworks. "We're building strong momentum across our channel as partners increasingly invest in Freshworks to develop scalable, services-led practices. The opportunity ahead is significant - partners want solutions they can confidently grow with, and Freshworks is uniquely positioned to deliver differentiated, fast time-to-value offerings aligned to high-growth segments."

Freshworks serves nearly 75,000 companies, including Bridgestone, New Balance, S&P Global and Sony Music.