Chairman

Mr. Kutman is a founding shareholder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Global Investment Holdings. Actively involved in business development at the Company, Mr. Kutman also serves on the Board of Directors of several Global Investment Holdings subsidiaries and affiliates.

Mr. Kutman is a member of DEİK (Foreign Economic Relations Board) and a member of TÜSİAD (Turkish Industry & Business Association).

Prior to founding the predecessor of the Company in 1990, Mr. Kutman was a project manager at Net Holding A.Ş., a Turkish corporate group involved in tourism and other related sectors, from 1989 to 1990. Between 1984 and 1989, he resided in the United States, where he served as Vice President at North Carolina National Bank, Sexton Roses Inc. and Philip Bush & Associates. Mr. Kutman holds a BA (Hons.) from Boğaziçi University and an MBA from the University of Texas.

Mr. Kutman plays a vital role in the Yale Program in Brain Tumor Research, which works to better understand the formation of brain tumours and develop improved therapies, as well as various cancer research activities worldwide through the Gregory Mr. Kiez and Mehmet Kutman Foundation.

Vice Chairman

Mr. Göker is a founding shareholder of Global Investment Holdings and has served as Chairman of the Group’s Finance division since its formation. In addition to sitting on the Board of Directors of various Group companies, Mr. Göker serves a member of several committees at Borsa Istanbul. He is also a member of TÜSİAD.

Prior to founding the predecessor of the Company in 1990, Mr. Göker led the Capital Markets Department at Net Holding A.Ş. before joining Net Holding A.Ş. he worked at the Capital Markets Board for four years, and at the Ministry of Finance in the Tax Auditing Department for four years. Mr. Göker holds a BA in Political Science and an MA in Economics, both from Ankara University.

Board Member

Mrs. Bensel joined the Board of Directors at Global Investment Holdings in 1999 and serves on the Boards of various Group subsidiaries. Mrs. Bensel is the Chair of the Group’s Real Estate division.

Mrs. Bensel served as the Chair and also, after 2005, as the CEO of Global Life Insurance until the Group sold the company in March 2007. Previously, Mrs. Bensel had been Co-Director of Research at Global Securities between 1998 and 1999, and Assistant Director of Research from 1993 to 1998. Prior to joining the Group as an Equity Research Analyst in 1991, Mrs. Bensel was a Foreign Exchange Dealing Manager in the Turkish banking sector. Mrs. Bensel holds a BA in Business Administration and Finance from Hacettepe University, Ankara.

Board Member

Mr. Kırmaz joined the Board of Directors at Global Investment Holdings in 2010. He also serves on the Boards of various subsidiaries.

Mr. Kırmaz received his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Middle East Technical University, Ankara. In 1988, he joined PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), where he became a Partner. From 1997 to 1999, Mr. Kırmaz held advisory positions in various Turkish business groups. Mr. Kırmaz served as the CFO and on the Boards of several subsidiaries of Doğan Group from 2007 to 2010; Global Investments Holdings between 2005 and 2007; and STFA Group from 1999 until 2005.

Independent Board Member

Hüseyin Faik Açıkalın began his career as a management trainee at Interbank, after graduating from Middle East Technical University, Department of Business Administration in 1987. Between 1992 and 1998, he held various positions in different banks. Following his assignment as Executive Vice President at Dışbank in May 1998, he was appointed as Deputy General Manager and Member of the Board of Directors in 1999 and as CEO and Managing Director in December 2000. With the acquisition of Dışbank by Fortis in 2005, Acikalin continued his role as the CEO of Fortisbank while also taking part in the in the international management of the bank. Acikalin left Fortisbank in October 2007 and joined Dogan Gazetecilik as the CEO. In April 2009, he was appointed as the CEO of Yapı Kredi Bank.
 
In addition to his role as the CEO at Yapı Kredi, Açıkalın assumed the CEO role at Koç Finansal Hizmetler in 2010; while also serving as the President of Koç Holding A.Ş. Banking and Insurance Group in 2011.
 
During his duty at Yapi Kredi, Açıkalın served as the Chairman of Yapı Kredi Bank's domestic and international subsidiaries, as the Vice Chairman of Banque de Commerce et de Placements S.A. and Allianz Life and Pension, and as a board member of the Banks Association of Turkey. Açıkalın departed his roles at Koç Holding, Yapı Kredi and its subsidiaries as of the end of 2017.
 
Currently, Açıkalın serves as an Advisor to the Board of Directors and an Independent Board Member for leading companies in Turkey and abroad.

Independent Board Member

Gülsüm Azeri holds a bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from Boğaziçi University and a master's degree in Industrial Engineering from the same university. Having been educated at Austrian and American-run schools, Austrian High School and Robert College, Azeri speaks German and English at an advanced level. Azeri is married with two children.

For a significant part of her career, Gülsüm Azeri worked in the senior management of Turkey's major industrial company Şişecam that produces glass and chemicals; having served as Chemicals Group President between 1994-1998, Glassware Group President between 1999-2007, and Flatglass Group President between 2007-2011. Simultaneously, Azeri also served as a member of the Executive Committee at Şişecam between 1994-2011. During her career at Şişecam, Azeri managed the export operations to 160 countries; while initiating and concluding 15 large-scale production facilities in Turkey, Bulgaria, Russia and Egypt. Futhermore, Azeri established business partnerships with leading companies in France, Italy, Belgium and the USA. Between 2011-2017, Gülsüm Azeri worked as the CEO and Board Member of OMV Petrol Ofisi A.Ş. and OMV Gaz ve Enerji Holding A.Ş., while also serving as the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of OMV Petrol Ofisi Holding A.Ş. and a member of the Senior Board of VIP Turkey Holding B.V.
 
Azeri held office as the Chair of the Glassware Committee of the European Container Glass Federation from 2004 to 2008, and a member of the Board of Directors of "Glass for Europe”, the trade association of European flat glass manufacturers, between 2009-2011. She also served as a member of the Board of Directors at THY (Turkish Airlines) between 2011 and 2013.

Gülsüm Azeri was a board member at Istanbul Chamber of Industry, executive board member at Turkish Exporters Assembly, board member and executive board member at The Foreign Economic Relations of Turkey; while also representing the private sector at the Prime Ministry Ethics Committee between 2005-2011. Additionally, Gülsüm Azeri was selected as the most powerful woman CEO by Ekonomist Magazine for three consecutive years in 2015, 2016 and 2017.

Independent Board Member

Mr. Satıcı is an Independent Board Member. Mr. Satıcı began his professional career in the textile sector, successfully expanding his family’s business. He was the youngest person to be elected as an Assembly Member at the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (İTO) in 1990. Mr. Satıcı served as a Board Member at the Economic Development Foundation (İKV) between 1996 and 1998 and as Chairman of the Istanbul Textile and Raw Materials Exporters’ Association from 1999 to 2001.

He was Chairman of the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM) for three consecutive terms between 2001 and 2008; his significant contributions during this period included an increase of more than 500% in Turkey’s export volume, an accomplishment widely acknowledged by the Turkish political and business community.

Mr. Satıcı also served as a member of the Coordination Committee for Improvement of the Investment Environment of Turkey (YOİKK) between 2001 and 2008, and of the Investment Advisory Council of Turkey (YDK) from 2004 to 2009.

Mr. Satıcı is Chairman of the Turkey - Central America and Caribbean Business Councils of DEİK (Foreign Economic Relations Board).

Mr. Satıcı is currently a Board Member at Turkish Eximbank. He holds a BA in Business Administration from Washington International University.