LinkedIn India head Nishant Rao to join Freshdesk

NEW DELHI: LinkedIn's India head Nishant Rao is quitting the professional social networking giant to join cloud-based customer support software firm Freshdesk as its Chief Operating Officer.

Rao will continue in his role as Managing Director of LinkedIn India until he assumes his new role at Freshdesk in November.

In his role as COO, he will be responsible for all non-R&D aspects of Freshdesk's operations, Freshdesk said in a statement.

"Nishant has an impressive track record of delivering value to companies at all stages of growth in the enterprise software industry. His expertise in scaling operations across global markets makes him an excellent addition to Freshdesk's executive team," Freshdesk founder and CEO Girish Mathrubootham said.

Rao brings a unique blend of business and technical skills that makes him a perfect fit for Freshdesk, he added.

Rao also serves as the Chairman of the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and is an Advisory Board Member for the National Committee on Skill Development, Confederation of Indian Industry ( CII).

"Nishant Rao has decided to pursue his next play outside of LinkedIn with effect from November 2015. Before that, Nishant will continue working closely with the team on the ground to ensure a smooth transition. We do not have anything else to share at this moment," LinkedIn said in response to query.

Prior to LinkedIn, Rao has held several executive positions at McKinsey, Ariba and Epicenter Technologies, India's first voice-based call centre.

Earlier this year, Freshdesk announced a USD 50 million funding round. The company been growing rapidly, doubling its customer base in the past year to more than 50,000 customers in 145 countries.

Headquartered in San Francisco, the company has a development centre in Chennai. Launched in 2010, Freshdesk has 50,000 customers globally, including 3M, Honda, Hugo Boss, University of Pennsylvania, The Atlantic, and Petronas.