Freshworks Announces Winners of the 2026 Global Customer Awards

Panasonic, Shopify, Cineworld, New Balance, Allied Universal and more honored for revolutionizing EX and CX with Freshservice, Freddy AI, and Freshdesk

SAN MATEO, Calif., May 20, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Freshworks (NASDAQ: FRSH) today announced the winners of its inaugural 2026 Global Customer Awards, recognizing customers whose commitment to innovation, transformation, and advocacy is setting a new standard for what service transformation can achieve.

Seven categories across Freshworks’ products recognize customers driving transformation at scale — from global law firms unifying ITSM across 90 countries, to retailers cutting customer resolution times with AI, to security companies building enterprise-wide service ecosystems from a single deployment. Together, these honorees show what’s possible with Freshworks.

“Tech leaders deserve to see real transformation, not just the promise of it on slides,” said Kady Srinivasan, Chief Marketing Officer of Freshworks. “Our 2026 Global Customer Award winners did exactly that. They use Freshworks to deliver real, measurable impact for the people they serve, and we're proud to celebrate what they've built."

Experience Transformation Leader Award for Freshdesk - Panasonic

Michelle Esgar, Director of Marketing and Experience at Panasonic, consolidated North America’s post-purchase customer support onto a single AI-enabled Freshdesk Omnichannel platform — replacing siloed, fragmented structures across markets, languages, and channels. The result: more than 90,000 annual conversations managed through one unified system, with custom bot workflows driving a 70% deflection rate and live chat first response times averaging just 20 seconds.

“Freshdesk supports Panasonic's global transformation goal — reducing customer effort and improving satisfaction in post-purchase support,” said Esgar.

AI Innovation Award for Freshservice - Shopify

Nikki McGrath, Senior Security Engineer of Technology Experience at Shopify, led the implementation of Freshservice across Shopify's global IT function, replacing a fragmented array of tools with a unified, intelligent service delivery platform. Intelligent workflows, self-service capabilities, and integrated asset and incident management now power IT support at scale, delivering a 30–45% reduction in average ticket resolution time and a 40%+ increase in self-service adoption.

“Freshservice streamlined IT service delivery across regions, replacing fragmented tools with a unified, automated service experience. This has significantly reduced response times and improved issue resolution at scale,” said McGrath.

AI Innovation Award for Freshdesk - Cineworld

Rajab Khalid, director of customer experience at Cineworld, led a wholesale customer experience transformation — replacing email threads, spreadsheets, and disconnected local tools with Freshworks' unified platform, AI-driven automation, and real-time analytics. More than 700 lost-item tickets are now resolved automatically every month, first-time response rates have improved by over 100%, and resolution times have dropped to under two hours. Cineworld now has full visibility into customer contact trends for the first time.

“Freshworks enabled real-time communication, automated workflows, and advanced analytics — allowing us to streamline operations and gain actionable insights into customer behavior,” said Khalid.

Customer Advocate of the Year for Freshservice - New Balance

Markus Gaulke, senior ITSM platform manager at New Balance, led the global rollout of Freshservice for more than 10,000 New Balance associates. He architected a unified service catalog from scratch, integrating Device42 for Configuration Management Database (CMDB) and asset management, and establishing change control at scale. Since go-live, New Balance has processed more than 70,000 tickets, doubled logged changes, and increased Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) by 25%.

“We were able to deliver a clear and easy way for global associates at New Balance to interact with IT through a service catalog, change control, inventory management, and Device42 CMDB, using all of Freshservice's functionality,” said Gaulke.

Customer Advocate of the Year for Freshdesk - iPostal1

Justin Levitz, head of process technology at iPostal1, used Freshworks to transform the operations of iPostal1, building a deeply customized, AI-enabled platform spanning customer service, IT, HR, legal, and operations when off-the-shelf software couldn't keep pace with the company's compliance requirements and growth. Four AI agents now resolve 56% of all chats — handling more than 85,000 conversations — while chat wait times dropped from 45 minutes to 7 minutes and 125 dashboards provide enterprise-wide transparency. Justin has shaped Freshworks' product roadmap directly through his Customer Advisory Board participation.

“Freshworks is the backbone of how the company runs day to day. It's a fully embedded, AI-enabled operating system that drives efficiency, compliance, and sustainable growth,” said Levitz.

Dream Team Award for Freshdesk and Freshservice - Allied Universal

Under the stewardship of Zwee Nelson, the applications manager at Allied Universal, what began as a single-team Freshservice deployment has grown into a connected, enterprise-wide ecosystem powering 24/7 support across Freshservice and Freshdesk for one of the world's largest security services companies. The most impactful project automated an emergency termination workflow that previously took up to 24 hours, reducing it to under one minute through API, connector, and a SailPoint integration.

For more information on our 2026 winners and the solutions they use, join us at our Refresh Virtual Summit on June 4, 2026. To register visit https://www.freshworks.com/events/refresh-virtual-summit-2026/.

About Freshworks
Freshworks Inc. provides service software that delivers exceptional employee and customer experiences. Its enterprise-grade solutions are powerful yet intuitive, and quick to deliver value. With a people-first approach to AI, Freshworks helps teams be more effective and organizations more productive. Companies including Bridgestone, New Balance, S&P Global, and Sony Music trust Freshworks to improve service efficiency and fuel long-term loyalty. For the latest updates, visit freshworks.com and follow Freshworks on LinkedIn, X, and Facebook.

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