Strategic People Advisory
Placing Leaders Every Day!
We're not just headhunters. We're your trusted advisor on everything people-related—from finding leaders who flourish to protecting your organization from integrity risks. Serving India, UAE, Europe & the US.
What We Solve
These are the exact conversations we have with promoters and CEOs every week.
"Can I get someone as good as my current CXO?"
You've seen what great leadership looks like. Now you need to replicate it—finding someone equally capable who fits your unique culture.
"We need a leader, not a résumé."
Job portals give you applicants. What you actually need is someone who understands promoter mindset and can thrive in your environment.
"Compensation decisions feel arbitrary."
You're either overpaying and setting wrong precedents, or underpaying and losing talent. You need market intelligence specific to your context.
"We need external judgment, not internal politics."
Succession planning, org restructuring, people conflicts—these decisions require someone without a stake in the outcome.
Our Services
A decade of solving complex people challenges—distilled into four core offerings.
Our flagship offering. Finding leaders who flourish in promoter-led environments.
Learn more →From hiring hygiene (SIEVE) to board-grade integrity oversight (RADAR).
Learn more →Compensation studies, market mapping, and competitive intelligence.
Learn more →Growth strategy, transformation roadmaps, and people-strategy alignment.
Learn more →Pillar A — Our Flagship
High-stakes, culturally aligned leadership hiring. We find leaders who don't just fit—they flourish in promoter-led and family business environments.
Roles we fill: CEO • CFO • COO • CTO • CHRO • Business Unit Heads • Country/Regional Leaders • Board Directors
Geographies: India • UAE • Europe • United States
Senior leader for Design & Build vertical at a leading industrial group. Required technical depth plus ability to work within promoter-driven culture.
→ Placed in 38 days. Driving 40% revenue growth. 3+ years tenure.
First external CEO for a promoter-led healthcare business scaling across India.
→ Successfully integrated. Company scaled 3x in 2 years.
Strategic CFO for a second-generation family business professionalizing finance function.
→ Led IPO preparation. Transformed financial governance.
Group CEO for a marine chemical manufacturing company at Ahmedabad. Required deep industry expertise and ability to drive growth across multiple verticals.
→ Successfully placed. Leading strategic expansion initiatives.
CEO for a facility management company at Dubai. Needed strong operational leadership and regional market understanding.
→ Driving operational excellence across GCC operations.
Executive Director Finance for a $4 billion diversified conglomerate at Mumbai. Required strategic finance leadership for complex multi-business portfolio.
→ Leading finance transformation across group companies.
Our Process
Refined over a decade of leadership placements.
Pillar B
From hiring hygiene to board-grade integrity oversight. Two solutions under one umbrella—protecting your organization from people risk at every level.
Standardized, high-throughput verification for hiring at scale. Establishes baseline trust before onboarding.
Board-grade, bespoke integrity oversight for senior leadership and sensitive positions. A governance instrument.
Board requested deep background validation for CFO candidate. Standard checks done, but needed board-grade integrity assurance.
→ RADAR uncovered undisclosed related-party interests. Governance crisis avoided.
Implemented SIEVE across 500+ annual hires. Replaced fragmented vendor approach with unified verification.
→ 40% cost reduction. 98% verification accuracy. Audit-ready compliance.
Pillar C
Data-driven insights for talent decisions. Compensation studies, competitive mapping, and performance benchmarking—delivered with consulting rigor.
Maker-Checker Approach: We speak not only with HR but also with line managers and functional stakeholders to validate whether policies are actually implemented. This ensures depth and authenticity beyond standard survey data.
Comprehensive CXO benchmarking across 9 leading pharma majors — including top-5 Indian API manufacturers and multinational subsidiaries.
→ Client restructured compensation bands. Reduced attrition 25%.
Detailed compensation study across consulting and technology tracks. Fixed CTC, variable pay, promotion cycles, appraisal cadence.
→ Enabled competitive positioning for talent acquisition.
Benchmarking leading life sciences consulting firms on performance processes, goal-setting, calibration, promotion cycles, and tools.
→ Informed future-state performance model design.
Identified senior talent across competitor organizations. Mapped reporting lines, tenure, compensation bands, and readiness to move.
→ Built targeted pipeline for 3 critical hires.
Pillar D
Helping leadership teams make hard choices. Where to play, how to win, and what to do right now to create long-term value.
Decision-driven (not framework-driven) • Senior-led (not junior-heavy) • Context-specific (not generic playbooks) • India-first realism (not global abstraction) • Board-ready outputs
Board needed clear multi-year international strategy addressing cyclicality, regional fragmentation, and capital allocation.
→ Delivered unified growth thesis. Board approved 3-year investment roadmap.
Second-generation transition with multiple stakeholders. Required external facilitation and governance framework.
→ Smooth leadership transition. Family alignment achieved.
Who We Serve
We understand the unique dynamics of working with founders and family enterprises.
Generational enterprises navigating succession, professionalisation, or expansion. We find leaders who respect legacy while driving growth.
Corporates aligning leadership with strategy, governance, and ESG. CHROs and CEOs navigating transformation without disruption.
Global companies entering or expanding across India and the UAE. Professionalising leadership to global standards.
Digital, cultural, or strategic transitions. Talent retention challenges. Leadership gaps that need filling fast.
Boards seeking independent integrity oversight through RADAR. Leadership addressing fraud, misconduct, or compliance risk.
Enterprises needing scalable background verification (SIEVE) or benchmarking studies for strategic decisions.
What Clients Say
22+ recommendations on LinkedIn from clients and candidates.
"I had the pleasure of working with Manish Kumar Jha throughout the JD, recruitment and onboarding process. From day one, he was exceptionally transparent, providing clear and honest communication every step of the way. His deep industry knowledge, combined with a personable and patient approach, made the experience smooth and stress-free. Manish's dedication to client success, attention to detail, and unwavering professionalism set him apart."
Executive Placement
"I had good experience of working with Manish who led a well-researched Compensation Benchmarking exercise for us. His analysis spanned various components of total rewards and included comparisons across diverse organizational archetypes and role profiles. He delivered clear, timely insights that shaped a more competitive and equitable compensation framework—combining intel from interviews into valuable actionable insights."
Compensation Benchmarking Client
Insights
Articles and perspectives on leadership, hiring, and building high-trust organizations.
FEBRUARY 2025
A fortnight ago, I faced a difficult situation—one that every headhunter dreads. A C-suite leader candidate, who had accepted...
Read on LinkedIn →JULY 2023
Throughout my career, I have noticed some common yet avoidable mistakes made by executives during interviews that...
Read on LinkedIn →JUNE 2023
In today's fiercely competitive business world, the success of an organization hinges on the quality of its leadership...
Read on LinkedIn →About Aurinko Management
In Finnish, Aurinko means the sun—the force that illuminates, energizes, and enables growth. That's our philosophy: bringing clarity to the most complex people challenges.
Aurinko Management is a boutique advisory firm built on sharp insight, deep specialization, and a relentless focus on getting people decisions right.
We're not a volume shop. We're selective about mandates because every engagement deserves our full attention. We don't compete on speed or price—we compete on judgment and outcomes.
"We are not just finding you a leader. We are your strategic advisor on everything people-related."— Manish Kumar Jha
Founder & Principal Consultant — Leadership Hiring
Deep expertise in executive search and leadership assessment across industries. Rashmi brings meticulous attention to candidate evaluation and cultural fit assessment.
LinkedInHeadhunter & Family Business Advisor
For over a decade, Manish has partnered with promoter-led and family-owned businesses to solve their most complex people challenges. The first call many promoters make when they face a people challenge they can't solve internally. Certified in High Impact Presentation (Dale Carnegie), PPA Practitioner (Thomas International).
LinkedInLet's Talk
Whether you need your next transformational leader, integrity assurance, benchmarking insights, or strategic counsel—we'd love to hear from you.
Occasional insights on leadership, talent, and building high-trust organizations.