Ashima Purohit

Passionate technologist and director of engineering at FreshWorks

Ashima is a director of engineering with FreshWorks. Her experience as a seasoned professional with over 15 years of IT experience has been focused on driving technical excellence, enhancing operational growth, and developing high-performing teams. She believes that security, proactive monitoring, and continuous delivery are essential requirements for developing resilient and scalable systems.

Working with global brands such as Staples US, Sony PlayStation Team US, Athena Health, India, Paypal India, and FreshWorks, India, provided her with valuable experience in learning and leading products based on various technologies such as Development Frameworks, DataBases, Cloud computing, Big Data systems, and others.

She is currently responsible for the strategic direction, vision, growth, and performance of FreshWork's core product, the agent portal. Ashima says, “My learnings cannot go without the mention of the mentors who played key role in shaping my professional journey.

For Ashima, each workday is “uniquely interesting, and no two days are the same,” as she relies on the triad of “collaboration, empowerment, and community” to drive operational excellence in her team. As a Director of Engineering, she is responsible for steering the strategic direction, vision, growth, and performance of IT Asset Management (a customizable, modern, intuitive, and fast time-to-value solution that eases service management for IT).

Moving away from industry jargon, she defines her role in simple terms. “As part of the first Indian SaaS-based company to go public in the US, my role involves designing and building intuitive solutions so that any unexpected interruption or reduction in service can be promptly reported and acted on to restore normal operations as quickly as possible with the least amount of disruption. My role spans everything from handling trouble tickets to total service outages to constant innovation and proactively broadcasting upgrades and fixes to prevent the breakage altogether.”

When it comes to her Philosophy for life, Ashima believes that “every problem has a solution, and every situation has an outcome.” When things get tough, she relies on her ability to work hard, enjoy her learnings, and celebrate her successes and setbacks. “Continue to put in your best efforts: There is always light at the end of the tunnel,” she says.

She holds the view point around the representation of women in STEM roles remains low, Ashima combines her passion for “staying abreast of new technology” with a purpose: to close the gender gap in STEM. She says, “When it comes to diversity representation in STEM, giving back to society is not only my passion but also my life principle, the purpose of my life.” An advocate for leading by example, she enjoys speaking at tech conferences and leadership training sessions where she can share her skills and expertise to encourage more women to join the workforce. “It gives me great joy to be associated as a mentor at the Cherie Blair Foundation, Unity PayPal, Freshworks Women 360, and Scaler Academy, where I get a chance to nurture new talent, share my own experiences, and find my younger self in my mentees.” Her insights have been featured in the Women Entrepreneur magazine.

When she’s not innovating with her peers or leading programs like Freshworks Career ReStart and Freshworks: Leading with Multipliers, she enjoys spending time “creating something beautiful from nothing. Gardening is my stress buster, while hobbies like knitting, making jewelry, or recycling plastic bottles into vases helps keep my hands and mind busy.”

Her aspirations from life is - Life should continue to inspire her by throwing new challenges so she can continue her journey learning and enjoying every moment!

---

---