Executive Board

İrem Oral Kayacık

President
Emre Eczacıbaşı

Vice President
Ayça Eroğlu
Izel Levi Coskun
Louisa Vinton
Onur Ünlü
Ozan Diren
Öner Çelebi
Oana Maria Rebedea
Stanislav Kim

Coordination Team

Arda Batu

TÜRKONFED
Tamer Şen

TÜSİAD
Hansın Doğan

UNDP
Simay Kardeş

Associate Director, Business for Goals
Gamzegül Kınalı

Associate Director, Business for Goals

İrem Oral Kayacık

President

Ms. Kayacik is the Business Development Director and Board Member of Odak Group. She holds a BA degree in Economics from Bogazici University and an MBA in Real Estate and Finance from Columbia University in New York.

Ms. Kayacik held positions in L’Oreal and Pepsi Bottling Group. Since 2005 she has been working at Odak Group of Company in various positions. She has worked extensively on financing, developing, leasing and management of Agora Shopping Centers and office development projects within Odak Group portfolio. She also serves as a Board Member at Turkish Industry and Business Association.

Emre Eczacıbaşı

Vice President

Emre Eczacıbaşı completed his undergraduate degree at Harvard University in 2006, and received a Business Administration Diploma degree from Colombia Business School. His career started at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) as a financial advisor. He was then appointed as Group President for Strategic Marketing and Finance at Eczacıbaşı Holding in 2008. During the period of 2011-2013, he realized microfinance and social entrepreneurship projects in the USA and in 2013-2014 he worked in the strategic marketing department of Yapı Products Group. In January 2015, Eczacıbaşı became the General Manager of the Construction Products Group’s culinary business area and launched İntema Yaşam company.

Ayça Eroğlu

Born in 1979, Ayça Eroğlu graduated from Koç University, Department of Economics after completing her high school education at Nişantaşı Işık High School. She also completed the Boğaziçi University Executive MBA programme. After working as a financial audit at Ernst & Young in the first years of her career, she started working at HSK in 2004. Between 2004 and 2010, Ayça Eroğlu worked at HSK in different departments such as purchasing, foreign trade, sales, marketing, and finance. Ayça Eroğlu, managed the entire operation process of the Systemair HSK merger between 2010-2012, was appointed as the General Manager in 2012. Ayça Eroğlu continues today as Systemair Turkey General Manager and Board Member. She also is the Executive Committee Member of RVM Systems Turkey, which produces, manufactures, installs and maintains Reverse Vending Machine solutions globally. And the Board Member of Regin Turkey which is a global player in the smart automation technologies industry.

Being the President of the International Competitiveness Commission (URK) since 2015, she is also conducting studies on the increase in Turkey’s exports of the HVAC industry. She also is an Advisory Board member of ISKAV (Heating, Cooling, Air Conditioning Research and Education Foundation). Besides sector activities, she is a member of the Swedish Chamber of Commerce (SCC) and the AKUT Sports Club Association Board of Directors. She is also a member of the Young Managers and Businessmen Association (GYİAD) and TÜRKONFED Board of Directors.

Izel Levi Coskun

Dr. Izel Levi Coskun, born in 1973, graduated from Istanbul University, Business Administration and studied MBA at University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign. Dr. Coskun lectured entrepreneurship classes in Marmara University between 2004 and 2014. He obtained his PhD with his thesis on “Corporate Sustainability” at Marmara University. His professional life started in 1991 and he gained experience in accounting, audit, tax, consultancy and internal audit. Dr. Coskun owns Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Capital Markets Board and Public Oversight Accounting and Auditing Standards Authority licenses. Since 2010, he is the Managing Partner of the accounting, auditing, tax and consulting firm Mazars Turkey and during the last two years he has been working as a Corporate Sustainability Ambassador to spread the sustainability perspective in Mazars and all its stakeholders.

Dr. Izel Levi Coskun harmonized his experience in various sectors with two core values “Sustainability” and “Entrepreneurship”. At the same time, he keeps writing articles about “Sustainability” and “Entrepreneurship” for Harvard Business Review blog and other foremost business mags in Turkey.

Dr. Izel Levi Coskun is a member of Turkish Industry & Business Association (TUSIAD)and at the same time Head of the Steering Committee for TÜSİAD’s entrepreneurship project “These Young People Have the Potential, Union of Chambers of Certified Public Accountants of Turkey, Turkish Internal Auditors’ Association, Turkish Association of Accounting Experts, Endeavor, Keiretsu Forum, Buğday Association for Supporting Ecological Living, Gökçeada Volunteers Association, TAİDER Family Business Association, Turkish Marine Environment Protection Association, Ada Dostları Association and Transparency International Turkey.

Louisa Vinton

Louisa Vinton is Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in the Republic of Turkey. Vinton is a development professional with more than 30 years of work experience in the region covered by the Regional Bureau for Europe and Central Asia.

Previously she served as UNDP Resident Representative in Georgia from November 2018 to March 2021. Earlier she held the dual roles of UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in North Macedonia, from November 2013 to October 2018, and Croatia, from July 2010 to June 2014.

In these roles, she successfully championed UNDP initiatives focused on job creation and self-employment, vocational training, public service delivery, local and regional economic development, social inclusion, gender equality, human rights, flood prevention, nature protection, energy efficiency, climate resilience, and crisis prevention and post-conflict recovery. She led the UN response to the migration crisis of 2015-16 in North Macedonia and spearheaded COVID-19 socio-economic response and recovery efforts in Georgia in 2020-21. She has a strong track record in building partnerships with Government, civil society, the private sector, academia and the international community.

Her first post with UNDP was as Division Chief in the Regional Bureau for Europe and Central Asia in New York, starting in February 2004, where she was responsible for UNDP activities in seven countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, the Russian Federation, and Ukraine. She also led UN coordination on issues related to the legacy of the Chernobyl nuclear accident of 1986.

Before joining UNDP, Louisa worked for the Economist Intelligence Unit for nine years, first as Editor of the weekly newsletter Business Eastern Europe and Editor in Chief of the company’s East European business publishing operations in Vienna, and later as head of the company’s Executive Services unit in New York. She is a champion of effective communications and excels at advocacy and messaging.

Between 1988 and 1994 Louisa worked as a Senior Research Analyst for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Inc., in Munich, specializing in coverage of Polish politics and economics.

She holds a B.A. in Russian Studies from Cornell University and an M.A. in History from the University of Michigan. As well as English, she speaks conversational Croatian, German, Polish and Russian.

Onur Ünlü

Onur Ünlü graduated from Yıldız Technical University Faculty of Mechanical Engineering with the title of Mechanical Engineer and completed his Engineering Business Management master’s degree at the University of Warwick in England.

He started his career in Üniversal Makine ve Isı Sanayi Tic. A.Ş. Company as an Industrial Systems Sales Engineer. He still provides services to industrial enterprises in the fields of energy efficiency and management consultancy, efficiency-enhancing project applications and energy performance contracts at ESCON Enerji A.Ş. He has provided energy auditing, consultancy and system solutions services to more than a thousand national and international companies and international financial institutions such as the World Bank, EBRD and UNIDO. He has also implemented Turkey’s first and a total of 26 successful Energy Performance Contracts.

Many academic articles and research studies of Onur Ünlü, who is a Certified Energy Manager, Survey Project Specialist and Performance Contracting and Funding Professional (PCF), have been published in national and international media. He still continues as EYODER President, TURKONFED Board Member and GREEN TRANSFORMATION COMMISSION Co-Chairman. He is a member of TOBB Air Conditioning Council, AEE (Association of Energy Engineers), TTMD and MMO and the president of WASTE HEAT COMMISSION.

Ozan Diren

Ozan Diren leads Turkey’s first local-capital fruit juice and a one of Turkey’s leading beverage brands, DİMES.

Diren started working for DİMES in university years, taking responsibilities at every level and in every corporate department. Meanwhile he pursued his academic training, graduating from İTÜ as an Industrial Engineer, prior to receiving a post graduate Marketing diploma from the University of Hartford. Later, he completed Finance advanced specialization program at İstanbul University’s Institute of Corporate Economics.

Parallel to the corporate vision and the development competitive environment, Ozan Diren spearheaded the formation of Nobel Pazarlama Ltd. within the DİMES group, and he has become the company’s first General Manager. In 2011, Diren is appointed as DİMES CEO

Apart from TÜRKONFED, Ozan Diren is a Board Member in MEYED and he is involved at ŞÜD, TGDF, TÜSİAD, ASÜD and SETBİR.

Ozan Diren is married and he has three children.

Öner Çelebi

Öner Celebi was born in Zile. He completed his high school education in Zile and later graduated from ITU and received a business administration diploma degree from Anadolu University.

Now, he is the president of the board and CEO of the Omega Group Companies. In this group, there are three companies:

Omega Engineering, providing electrical turnkey projects;
Omega Pano, manufacturing electrical panels;
Proasist, providing electrical, mechanical, technical maintenance and repair services across Turkey.

He was selected as an Endeavor entrepreneur at Sofia International Selection Panel in 2017.

He is a member of TUSIAD, TURKONFED, ETMD, TEDAR, ENDEAVOR, EMO, and ITU-MD.

He contributes as a mentor in some projects such as BORGIP, ISIMI YONETEBILIYORUM, and ITU-MD.

He is married and has one son.

Oana Maria Rebedea

Oana Maria Rebedea is the Regional Partnership Specialist, and the Team Leader of the Partnerships Team, based in the Istanbul Regional Hub. She works closely with all the UNDP Offices in Europe and the former CIS in partnership development and resource mobilization.

Before joining the Regional Hub, Oana worked in the Public Partnerships team in BERA NY, overseeing the corporate partnerships with Germany, the EU, Netherlands, Switzerland, France and Belgium. In this capacity, and with relevant Representation Offices, she led the corporate partnership development and the implementation of key donor engagement strategies and coordinated core and non-core resource mobilization through donor consultations, strategic missions of the senior leadership and support to country offices in their relevant engagements. Prior to this, Oana served as Coordination Specialist in the UN Systems Affairs team, focusing on the longer-term positioning of the UN development in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the preparations and negotiations of the QCPR. Before joining UNDP, she worked in the Permanent Mission of Romania to the UN where she was responsible for the sustainable development portfolio and the UN Agencies, Funds and Programmes. Oana served in different capacities, including as a member of the Open Working Group for the elaboration of the SDGs, the negotiations of the 2030 Agenda and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, and as Vice-President of the Second Committee of the General Assembly and of the Commission on Population and Development of ECOSOC.

Stanislav Kim

Stanislav Kim is currently the Team Leader for the Climate Change and Disaster Resilience Team at the UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub. In this role, he provides support to 18 countries in Europe and Central Asia, assisting them in building their resilience to natural disasters, promoting risk-informed development, and supporting their disaster response and recovery efforts.

With over 25 years of experience in development, disaster risk reduction (DRR), energy, and environmental programs across Europe and Central Asia region, he brings a wealth of expertise to his current position. Before undertaking his current assignment, Stanislav worked as a DRR program specialist at the Istanbul Regional Hub from 2015 to 2022. Prior to that, from 2010 to 2014, he held the position of Head of the Energy and Environment Unit at UNDP Kazakhstan. Between 2003 and 2010, he served as the National Coordinator of the GEF Small Grants Programme. Additionally, Stanislav have worked for various national and regional NGOs prior to joining UNDP.

His educational background includes a Bachelor of Science degree in Geography and a Master of Science degree in Environmental Management.

Arda Batu

TÜRKONFED

Arda Batu completed his high school education at The Browning High School, he then studied Political Science and International Relations at Bosphorus University. He completed his internship at the European Parliament and attained his MA degree from Marmara University European Studies Institute.

Arda Batu’s career began in 2004 at Yeditepe University’s Political Science & International Relations Department where he served as a research assistant. He transitioned to the corporate sector when he joined HB Consultancy Group in 2007 whilst continuing his affiliation with the university as a research assistant and lecturer. His keen interests in government relations and strategic communications led him to Istanbul-based regional corporate communications firm, StratejiCo. He joined Turkish Enterprise and Business Confederation on June 2014 where he manages, promotes and advances the Confederation’s strategic interests.

Arda Batu serves as an independent board member at Federal Mogul Izmit Piston, on the executive board of Centre for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies (EDAM), advisory board of Co-opinoin, and the editorial board of Turkish Policy Quarterly.

Tamer Şen

TÜSİAD

Tamer Şen is the Deputy Secretary General of TÜSİAD responsible for investment environment, entrepreneurship and youth affairs. Tamer Şen, who previously worked as the Director of Global Economic Relations at TÜSİAD, holds a BA degree on Economics from the University of Istanbul and MA degree on International Relations from the University of Galatasaray.

Hansın Doğan

UNDP

Hansın Dogan is specialized in advancing the role of the private sector in development. He advocates for inclusive and responsible business policies and developed over 50 public-private partnerships in achievement of social and environmental challenges and SDGs. He’s been a leader and a key contributor in enabling and managing several private sector platforms and policy centers for development, including Global Compact Turkey Network, UNDP Istanbul International Center for Private Sector in Development, Business Call to Action, Connecting Business initiative Turkey, Business for Goals Platform, csrblog.com. Before joining the UNDP, he has been an academic at Ankara University, Faculty of Political Sciences, and provided consultancy services to Turkish Prime Ministry, Under-secretariat of Treasury, Turkey and Middle-East Public Administration Institute, Fulbright Commission, Turkish Coal Mining Institute, GTZ and the US Embassy in Ankara. He holds a BA on Management from Ankara University/Turkey and an MA on European Studies from Exeter University/UK.

Simay Kardeş

Associate Director, Business for Goals

Working actively for several volunteering and civil society activities since 2005, Ms. Kardeş completed her academical education in the fields of business administration, non-governmental organizations management and international relations. Before joining UNDP, she engaged in professional work in the areas of international lobbying, volunteering, development, labour management, international exchange programme in several agencies such as UNV, Educational Volunteers Foundation of Turkey (TEGV), General Secretariat of EXPO 2020 Izmir, and World Learning.

Gamzegül Kınalı

Associate Director, Business for Goals

Gamzegul Kinali has completed her bachelor’s degree in Ankara University Faculty of Political Sciences, International Relations department and she has been an exchange student in University of Brussels for a year. After been granted a full scholarship from Swedish Institute to complete her master’s degree in Malmö University, Global Political Studies Department, she has stayed in Sweden for eight years.

During her time in Malmö, she has further studied individual subjects including gender studies, criminology, Swedish politics and public law in the university. She worked both within the public and private sector and also in various civil society organizations. At her latest work places, Forza of Sweden and Malmö Ideella, she has coordinated partnership projects between municipalities and regional boards and civil society organizations about integration of asylum seekers and other migrant groups through active participation to society.

Throughout her life, Gamzegul Kinali has participated in various youth, arts and environmental projects, and she has volunteered in humanitarian organizations. She also organized and facilitated events and workshops including structural violence, gender equality and family planning, professional networking and intercultural integration. She voluntarily continues to coach and mentor people, especially migrant women, according to the areas they wish to develop themselves.