Exotel COO Ishwar Sridharan Steps Down from Leadership Role

Ishwar Sridharan, the co-founder and COO of the cloud telephony and customer engagement company Exotel, has officially left his position, as indicated by an internal communication shared with employees. Sridharan, who dedicated over 14 years to the firm, informed staff of his departure in an email sent on Monday. He described that day as his last official working day at Exotel, noting that it had been one of the most remarkable and productive periods in his professional journey. He expressed pride in contributing to the establishment of an “institution built to last.”

Career Journey Before Exotel

Before co-founding Exotel in 2011, Sridharan launched his career at SAP Labs, subsequently taking on roles at Yahoo! as a Principal Engineer and at Position2 as Engineering Manager.

Recent Leadership Changes at Exotel

Sridharan’s resignation is part of a pattern of senior-level departures at the Bengaluru-based company. Since December 2024, Exotel has also witnessed exits from Angira Agrawal, who was the India Business Head, the late Lalit Khosa, a Senior Director in BFSI, and Sumanpreet Bhatia, the VP of HR, as per a source who wished to remain anonymous.

Downsizing and Structural Adjustments

This succession of exits follows an earlier round of workforce reductions in early 2023, where Exotel laid off approximately 142 employees, representing about 15% of its workforce. The company had adjusted its Performance Improvement Plan policy, eliminating the need for prior warnings before beginning employee reviews.

Exotel’s Growth and Market Position

Founded by Shivakumar Ganesan, Ishwar Sridharan, and Siddharth Ramesh, Exotel has successfully raised over $100 million through various funding rounds. The company’s investors include Blume Ventures, A91 Partners, and Sistema Asia, with A91 Partners holding the largest external stake at 25.7%, followed closely by Blume Ventures.

In the competitive landscape, Exotel faces challenges from Gupshup-owned Knowlarity, MyOperator, Ozonotel, Tata Communications, and other similar entities.