GET TO KNOW...
On the lighter side of things, we ask the
industry experts what makes them tick. . . .
Simon Johnson,
General Manager UK&I, Freshworks
WWhat would you describe as your
most memorable achievement?
My most memorable achievements are split
between my professional and personal life.
Professionally, my greatest achievement is
establishing the Freshworks London office.
We’ve been able to take it from a zero to
a multi-million-dollar region within a few
years. Today, we have 45+ amazing people
operating from our London home, doubling
our revenue year-on-year.
On a personal level, I have completed the
London marathon multiple times, pulling
my time down to 3:30hrs. I’ve also trained
to become an FA Level 1 qualified football
coach, giving me the opportunity to coach
my son’s village team, both of which I’m
very proud of. This gives me more time to
spend with my two passions, my family and
football. As a youth, I played a great deal of
football, including U18 England Trials.
What first made you think of a
career in technology?
I started my career in technology as a presales
engineer at a video editing hardware
company based in Cambridge. Most of
my time there was spent installing and
supporting render farms for post-production
companies in Soho. It was an extremely
interesting job due to the emergence of
programmes like Walking with Dinosaurs
and the experience gave me a great
understanding of computer architecture and
operating systems. After spending a year
travelling around Australia, New Zealand and
South East Asia, I took up an Enterprise Sales
role in a software company in Cambridge
called Redgate Software. I grew into a
leadership position and the role gave me
the opportunity to travel the world, and
ultimately set up sales teams in Cambridge,
Los Angeles and Singapore. I haven’t looked
back since.
What style of management
philosophy do you employ with
your current position?
Any good leader must be fluid. In my early
days at Freshworks, I was very hands-on,
doing all the hiring, planning and setting the
“
AS A YOUTH,
I PLAYED A
GREAT DEAL
OF FOOTBALL,
INCLUDING U18
ENGLAND TRIALS.
strategy personally. The focus was on how
we scale up and keep increasing revenue.
Now I focus more on how to keep my team
happy and driving towards clear OKRs for
the region. I like to practice situational
leadership which allows me to reflect on
where people are in their development
cycle and adjust my management style to
help them perform at their best, both for
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