Board of Directors

Dr. Ömer Fatih Sayan was born in İstanbul in 1977. He received his Bachelor degree from the Electronics Engineering Department of İstanbul University Faculty of Engineering; Faculty of Law of Bahçeşehir University and Diplomatic Studies of Oxford University - St Antony’s School. In addition to these educations, he completed his Master’s Degree at Electrical and Electronics Engineering and Communications Engineering Department of Technical University of Munich and at Biomedical Engineering Department of İstanbul University Institute of Science and Technology. Following his mater’s degree, Sayan completed his PhD on Biomedical Engineering at the İstanbul University.

Starting his career in İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality in 1995, Mr. Sayan worked in private companies in Türkiye, Germany and USA in the fields of chip manufacturing, cell phone design and R&D after receiving his Bachelor’s Degree. He carried out studies in entrepreneurship by working under the initiative of Silicon Valley and he gave lectures on Information Law and New Trends in Informatics in many universities in Türkiye and Germany. Sayan has given many lectures in conferences about research subjects and he has many articles published in scientific journals.

Sayan served as the Prime Ministry Counsellor and Chief Counsellor from 2007 to 2014 and in January 2014, he was appointed as a board member of the Information Technologies and Communication Authority. From August 2015 to July 2018, he served as Chairman of the Information Technologies and Communication Authority. Sayan has been assigning as the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure on July 21, 2018. Sayan is married and father of 3 children who speaks English, German and French.

He is originally from Develi district of Kayseri province and was born in 1966 in İstanbul. After completing his education at Zeytinburnu İmam Hatip Secondary School and at Şehremini High School, he graduated from the Department of Economics of Marmara University, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences in 1988. In1990, he studied English at the “Anglo School of English”.

Mahmut Gürcan, who started his business career in 1988, is the founder of family-owned companies operating in the optical and textile sectors. These companies not only conduct trade in the domestic market but also export to many countries.

Mahmut GÜRCAN, who has had a very active political area, joined into the political life in 1992. After taking important positions in the Welfare Party and the Virtue Party, he served as the Founding Member of AK Party Bakırköy District Presidency and Member of the Board of Directors of AK Party Bakırköy District Presidency, , Central Decision Board (MKYK) Member of Ak Party, Consultant in the AK Party Headquarters Organisation Presidency, Istanbul 3rd Region Coordinator of Ak Party, East Anatolia Regional Coordinator of Ak Party, AK Party Istanbul Provincial Vice President who is in charge of financial and administrative affairs, on top of his roles as the Chairman of the election coordination centres of Ağrı, Şanlıurfa and Denmark.

In addition, he is a Member of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, Istanbul Chamber of Industry, MUSIAD, Science Dissemination Society, and Ensar Foundation. Mahmut Gürcan was appointed as the Deputy Minister of Treasury and Finance on December 16, 2021 and he is married and father of 3 children.

Chief Advisor of President, Economist, Financial Analyst, Banker, Journalist, Columnist. He worked as economy commentator in Kanal 6, Kanal E and CNN Türk and columnist in Radikal, Vatan, Referans and HaberTürk. Bulut who producer and the presenter of Parametre and Finans Analiz TV programs, worked as a lecturer in Doğuş University for a period of time. Between 2009 and 2012, he was the Chief Production Director of HaberTürk TV, economy commentator in Bloomberg TR and columnist in HaberTürk Newspaper. Between 2012 and 2013, he was the Chief Production Director of 24 TV and columnist in Star Newspaper. He continued to present the TV discussion program “Sansürsüz” in 24 TV, transferring from HaberTürk TV. He has served as the Prime Minister’s Chief Advisor between July, 2013 and August 2014 and has been serving as Chief Advisor of President since August 2014. Bulut who graduated from Galatasaray High School and Bilkent University, Faculty of Banking and Finance, and took his master’s degree in Sorbonne University. Yiğit Bulut speaks English and French.

Dr. Cengiz Yavilioğlu was born on August 20, 1970 in Erzurum. Mr. Yavilioğlu is an Economist (PhD) and he graduated from Department of Public Administration of İstanbul University, Faculty of Political Sciences. He completed his postgraduate degree at the Department of International Finance of İstanbul University, Faculty of Political Sciences, and he completed his PhD at the Department of International Economics of Cumhuriyet University, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences. He worked as a Research Assistant in the Department of Economics of the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences of Cumhuriyet University, and also as a Visiting Lecturer in the Faculty of Security Sciences of the Police Academy as well as working as the Deputy Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Rauf Denktaş University.

He worked as the Head of Finance and Fund Management Department of the Prime Ministry Privatization Administration. Moreover he also served either as Board Member or Chairman at Black Sea Copper Enterprises Inc, Türkiye Maritime Organisation Inc, TEDAŞ (Türkiye Electricity Distribution Corporation) Meram Electricity Distribution Inc, TEDAŞ Çamlıbel Distribution Inc, Ankara Natural Electricity Generation and Trade Inc., TÜPRAŞ, Sugar Refineries of Türkiye Inc and Turkish Industrial Development Bank.

Yavilioğlu was elected as the Member of the Parliament as AK Party Erzurum Deputy for the 24th Term. He has articles on foreign capital investments, privatization practices, development economics, and books titled “Efficiency and Performance Analysis of Some Privatized Companies in Türkiye” and “Privatization Practices in the World and in Türkiye” that were published in 2010.

He served as the AK Party Deputy Chairman of Economic Affairs, as a Member of the Planning and Budget Committee of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, and as a Member of the Research Commission for Coups and Memorandums. He served as the Deputy Minister of Finance in the 64th and 65th Governments. He was appointed as the Deputy Minister of Treasury and Finance on January 30, 2021. Dr. Yavilioğlu, is married and has 3 children.

Selim Dursun was born in İstanbul in 1957. He was graduated from Mechanical Engineering Department of Istanbul Yıldız Technical University in 1980. He worked in the private sector as Mechanical Engineer and served in executive positions between the years of 1980-2002. He served as Advisor to Minister in the Ministry of Transport between 2003-2005, as Executive Assistant of Ministry of Transport between 2005-2011, as General Manager and Chairman in TÜDEMSAŞ between 2011-2012 and as Advisor to the Minister in Ministry of Transport between the years of 2012-2015. He was elected as a Member of Parliament from Sivas province in the 25th and 26th Parliaments of Türkiye. In the same period, he worked as the Chair of Peru Friendship Group of Parliament of the Republic of Türkiye. He carried out various social activities in Non-Governmental Organizations as chairman, manager and member. He served as a Board Member of the Taekwondo Federation between 2004-2007, as the Chairman of Transportation Sports Club Association between 2006-2015 and as the president of Sivas Demirspor Club between the years of 2011-2012. He has been working as the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure of the Republic of Türkiye since July 2018. Selim Dursun is married and father of 4.

Enver İskurt was born in 1966 in Trabzon. İskurt graduated from Karadeniz Technical University, Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Department of Construction. Iskurt, who started working as a Survey Team Engineer at the General Directorate of Highways, Van 11th Regional Directorate in 1990, worked as a control engineer, control chief and chief engineer respectively in the regions. After successfully carrying out his duties as the Director of the Highways Bridges Branch and the Head of the Highways Department (Head of the Department of Operations) in the General Directorate of Highways, Enver İskurt assumed the position of the Head of the Inspection Board. He is carrying out the Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructure duty. Enver İskurt is married and father of 2.

Ümit Önal, a graduate of Istanbul University Faculty of Communication, started his professional life in media and communication sector. He joined Turkuvaz Media Group in 2007 and served as the General Manager of ATV, Advertising Group President and Executive Board Member, respectively, until 2015. After being appointed as the Board Member and CEO of Digitürk in 2015, he managed Digiturk's sales process to BeIN Media Group. Önal joined Türk Telekom family as the Assistant General Manager responsible for Sales and Customer Services at the end of 2016, and in December 2018, he was appointed as the Assistant General Manager responsible for Marketing and Customer Services, and in August 2019, he was appointed as the CEO of the company. Having more than 20 years of experience in the media and communication sector, Önal has contributed significantly to the process of radical change in the Turkish media, and he continues to lead the digital and technological transformation of Türkiye in Türk Telekom.

Throughout his career, Ümit Önal has actively taken positions in national and international associations. Önal served as the Chairman of the Board of Mobile Telecommunication Operators Association (m-TOD) in 2020; he is still actively Chairman of TV Monitoring and Research Committee (TİAK A.Ş.); Board Member at Advertisers Association (RVD), member to Foreign Investors Association (YASED), Board Member at Yıldız Teknopark of Yıldız Technical University and US Business Council Member of Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK); and he represents Türk Telekom at Association of TV Broadcasters (TVYD).

Önal joined the Türk Telekom family as the Assistant General Manager responsible for Sales and Customer Services at the end of 2016, and was appointed as the Assistant General Manager responsible for Marketing and Customer Services in December 2018. In August 2019, Ümit Önal was appointed as the CEO of the company and has been serving as a member of the Türk Telekom Board of Directors since March 2022.

Arda Ermut has been the CEO and a member of the Board of Directors of the Türkiye Wealth Fund since March 2021. Previous to his appointment, Mr. Ermut served as the President of the Investment Office of the Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye between 2015-2020 and was a member of the TWF Board of Directors from 2018 to 2020. Mr. Ermut started his career as the Press and Public Relations Consultant to the Prime Minister and later joined the Investment Office of the Presidency, formerly known as the Türkiye Investment Support and Promotion Agency, as a Project Director in 2005. During his time at the Agency, Mr. Ermut held various key managerial positions and was appointed President in 2015. In addition, Mr. Ermut served as a member of the Turkish Airlines Board of Directors and one of three Turkish Airlines Executive Committee members between 2019-2021. Playing an important role in bringing international direct investments to Türkiye, Mr. Ermut was a member of the Board of Directors of the Vienna Economic Forum and SunExpress between 2015-2019, the Vice President of the Türkiye Basketball Federation between 2019-2021, and the Chairman to the Board of Directors of the World Association of Investment Agencies (WAIPA) for four years.

Mr. Ermut graduated from Boğaziçi University with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and International Relations.

Metin İlhan was born in Mardin in 1981. After graduating from Istanbul University Faculty of Law, he completed his Master's Degree in European Union Law and International Law at Bremen University Faculty of Law. He started working as a lawyer in İstanbul in 2006. He worked as a lawyer in the ATV-Sabah Media Group between 2007-2008. He was in Germany after 2008 and continued to work as a consultant and lawyer for the ATV-Sabah Media Group during this period. He also taught Turkish Law at Frankfurt Goethe University. Between 2013-2016, he served as the General Secretary of the Union of European Turkish Democrats (UETD), headquartered in Köln, Germany. In 2016, he was appointed as a trustee to Zaman Newspaper and its subsidiaries and served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors. He has been working as a founding partner at Jurist Law Firm since 2016. Metin İlhan, who is married and has two children, speaks German and English.

The term of office of the members of the Board of Directors is 3 years.​