Aparna Chitale is the Chief People Officer [CPO] & EVP, Astronaut Operations at Virgin Galactic. With over 25 years of strategic global experience in aerospace, technology, and entertainment, she has led teams at both public and privately held companies.
As Chief People Officer, Ms. Chitale leads all aspects of human resources, to include talent management, workforce planning, culture and engagement, total rewards, employee experience and operations and corporate security. As head of Astronaut Operations, Ms. Chitale oversees the teams responsible for scaling Virgin Galactic’s astronaut experience operations in preparation for regular commercial spaceflights, supporting an astronaut experience that is deeply personalized and life changing. In addition to leading the growth of Astronaut Operations, Ms. Chitale is responsible for defining and instilling our astronaut-driven mindset across all parts of the organization.
Before joining Virgin Galactic, Ms. Chitale served as Vice President of Human Resources at Disney Parks, Experiences and Products from November 2014 to September 2021. In this role, she led the HR strategy of the company’s international theme parks business in Paris, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Tokyo, as well as overseeing HR for global Disney consumer products, cruise line and corporate functions. She played an instrumental role in leading talent and culture initiatives at global scale to shape employee and guest culture. Ms. Chitale joined Disney as the Head of HR for its media businesses in India. Prior to Disney, she led HR for Avaya India PVT Ltd, where she built the HR infrastructure and large engineering and technology teams that were instrumental for rapid business growth.
Ms. Chitale holds a Master of Arts degree in Personal Management and Industrial Relations from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai, India, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Pune University, India.