PeopleStrong appoints Aashay Manake as Chief People Officer

Leading HCM SaaS platform, PeopleStrong has announced the strategic appointment of Aashay Manake as its Chief People Officer, effective immediately.

Manake, who recently served as Vice President of HR at Jubilant FoodWorks, will lead PeopleStrong’s people and culture strategy, focusing on strengthening leadership capability, workforce effectiveness, and organisational readiness as the company expands across markets.

With over 16 years of experience across high-growth and complex organisations in FMCG, industrial conglomerates, hospitality, consumer tech, and QSR sectors, Manake has held senior HR roles at ITC, GE, OYO, and Jubilant FoodWorks, where he led people strategy for large, multi-brand, distributed workforces. 

Manake is an alumnus of Symbiosis Center For Management and HR Development, has driven enterprise-wide HR initiatives spanning performance and rewards, talent and leadership development, employee relations, and organisational design, often in rapidly transforming environments.

Welcoming Manake to the leadership team, Sandeep Chaudhary, CEO of PeopleStrong, said, "At PeopleStrong, we believe that people care is good business. As we scale across markets and support organisations navigating increasingly complex workforce realities, having a leader who combines strong HR expertise, process thinking, and genuine human understanding is critical. Aashay embodies this balance exceptionally well. We are thrilled to have him on board as we strengthen our people and culture agenda in the next phase of growth."

Manake added, "PeopleStrong has consistently led in progressive people practices, setting benchmarks for culture, leadership, and employee experience. I am excited to build on this foundation, strengthen capabilities, create scalable people systems, and foster a culture that brings joy, energy, and meaning to work."

The appointment reinforces PeopleStrong’s commitment to building leadership capability and a people-first organisation aligned with its long-term growth ambitions.