Prof. Murat Şeker earned his undergraduate degree in Industrial Engineering from Marmara University, Türkiye, in 2000, graduating as the second-ranked student of his department. He then earned a Master’s Degree in Economics from Sabancı University, Türkiye, in 2002, followed by a PhD in Economics from the University of Minnesota, USA, in 2008. Prof. Şeker completed all his degree programs with high honors. During his doctoral studies, he lectured courses on Economic Growth and Development, Monetary Economics and Banking, Public Finance, and Microeconomics. 

Prof. Şeker worked as an Economist at the Financial and Private Sector Development Vice Presidency of the World Bank, USA, between 2008 and 2013. During his tenure at the World Bank, he participated in many operational projects and was responsible for the production of policy reports and research publications on innovation, entrepreneurship, international trade, and growth in developing countries. Prof. Şeker was awarded the World Bank Chief Economist Honor Award twice for his publications. 

Between 2013 and 2016, Prof. Şeker worked at Ziraat Bank as Senior Vice President of Financial Institutions and Investor Relations Department where he was responsible for international funding; managing the relationship with all financial institutions and investors. During this period, Prof. Şeker also served as Board Member of Ziraat Investment, Ziraat Private Pension and Ziraat Insurance subsidiaries. 

In July 2016, Prof. Şeker was assigned as the Chief Financial Officer of Turkish Airlines. In Turkish Airlines, he is responsible from financing, treasury operations, accounting, procurement and investor relations. In March 2021, he was additionally appointed as a Member of the Board and the Executive Committee of Turkish Airlines. Prof. Şeker also serves as a Board Member of Turkish Technic and SunExpress subsidiaries. Between 2015 and 2018, Prof. Şeker lectured as part-time professor at Boğaziçi University, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences. In December 2025, he received the title of Professor and was appointed as a Professor to the Department of Economics within the School of Business at Ibn Haldun University. 

As of April 9, 2026, Prof. Şeker serves as Chairman of the Board and the Executive Committee of Turkish Airlines.

Şekib Avdagiç was born in 1959 in Zenica (Bosnia and Herzegovina). He started his primary education in Cologne (Germany) and continued his schooling in Istanbul. He graduated from Istanbul Technical University, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in 1982 and completed the Istanbul University Business Administration Programme with honours in 1988.

He serves as Chairman of the Board and as General Manager in a family business operating in the automotive industry. Mr. Avdagiç speaks English and Bosnian. He is married and has two children.

In April 2018, Şekib Avdagiç was elected as the President of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ICOC) Executive Board. As of May 31, 2023, he has been serving as the Vice President of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye.

Since September 2019, he serves as the Vice President of the Danube Chambers of Commerce Federation (DCCF). On July 11, 2023, he took over the duty of the Chairman of the Services Exporters’ Association. Since June 2024, he have been serving as the Deputy Chairman of the Board and Executive Committee of Turkish Airlines.

Mr. Avdagiç was one of the 12 founder members of The Independent Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association and took charge as the Association’s Vice President until 2000. 

In 1995 he was elected as a Member of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ICOC) Assembly and between 2005-2009 he served as the Treasurer of the ICOC Executive Board. From 2009 to 2013 he served as the Vice President of the ICOC Executive Board. He has been elected as the President of the ICOC Assembly in May 2013 and held this position until 2018. 

Between 2009 and 2011, Mr. Avdagiç served as the President of the Executive Council of the Istanbul 2010 - European Capital of Culture Agency. From 2013 until 2019 he served as the Chairman of the Turkish Composites Manufacturers Association.

In addition to these duties, Mr. Avdagiç serves as the Chairman of The İTO Commercialization and Research Foundation, İTO Education and Social Services Foundation and The Tourism Development and Education Foundation (TUGEV); as the Vice President of Teknopark Istanbul and Istanbul World Trade Center; as a Board Member of Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK) , Istanbul Development Agency (İSTKA) and Association of Automotive Parts and Components Manufacturers (TAYSAD); and as a Trustee of the International University of Sarajevo, Prof. Dr. Fuat Sezgin Islamic Science History Research Foundation, and Istanbul Technical University Development Foundation.

Ahmet Olmuştur was born in Istanbul in 1980. After completing his primary and secondary education in Istanbul, he continued his higher education at Marmara University, Department of Business Administration. He earned his Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) through a rotational program at Long Island University (New York), European Business School (London), and Pôle Universitaire Léonard de Vinci (Paris).

Having begun his professional career with a part-time position at Turkish Airlines Call Center in 2000, he continued his career at Turkish Airlines as a Flight Analyst in the Directorate of Revenue Management following the completion of his post-graduate studies. In the following years, Mr. Olmuştur held various positions within the same department, including Manager of Global Distribution Systems, Manager of Revenue Management and Pricing, and Senior Vice President of Revenue Management.

Since 2014, he has continued to serve in similar business areas at Turkish Airlines under different titles: until 2024 as Chief Marketing and Sales Officer, and between 2024-2026 as Chief Commercial Officer. Since April 9, 2026 he continues his duties as CEO and the Member of the Board and Executive Committee. Simultaneously, he serves as a Board Member and Audit Committee Member of Sunexpress Airlines, Board Member of Turkish Technic  and as a member of the IATA Distribution Advisory Council.

He is also a Member of the Board and Board of Trustees of the Prof. Dr. Fuat Sezgin Research Foundation for the History of Islamic Science, a board member of the Turkish Golf Federation, a board member of the Tourism Development and Education Foundation and a aboard member of the Turkish Olympic Committee. He speaks English fluently and has basic knowledge of Arabic as well as reading and writing skills in Ottoman Turkish. He is married and has three children.

Metin Gülşen graduated from Istanbul Technical University, Department of Industrial Engineering, in 2000. He subsequently completed his Master’s Degree in Banking at Marmara University and also holds a second Master’s Degree in Technology and Engineering Management from Doğuş University.

Mr. Gülşen started his professional career at Kuveyt Türk participation bank in June 2002 and held various positions in the areas of financial control and budget management for nearly 15 years. In March 2017, he joined Turkish Airlines as Budget Manager. In addition to this role, he also served as Acting Head of Financial Analysis between March 2018 and February 2020. In February 2020, Mr. Gülşen was appointed as Vice President of Financial Planning and Reporting. Between April 2022 and 2026, he served as Senior Vice President of Accounting and Financial Control.

As of April 9, 2026, he was appointed as Chief Finance Officer. In this role, he is responsible for the Company’s finance, treasury, accounting, financial control&reporting, procurement and investor relations operations. Mr. Gülşen also serves as a Member of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of Turkish Airlines.

Mr. Gülşen speaks English fluently and holds the Capital Markets Activities Level 3 License. He is married and has two children.

Born in İnegöl, Bursa in 1987, Mr. Ecertaş graduated from Kartal Anatolian Imam-Hatip high school in 2004. He studied Business Administration at Beykent University and graduated as a valedictorian in 2009.

After his Bachelor’s Degree, granted with Fulbright scholarship, Mr. Ecertaş took his Master’s Degree at Emerson College in Boston, United States in Marketing Communications department. Following his research assistant position at MIT/Sloan School of Management, he completed his PhD degree at Gebze Technical University in Management and Organization. Mr. Ecertaş worked in the field of finance in various companies in Türkiye and currently continues his academic studies as an Assistant Professor in Ibn Haldun University.

He served as the Corporate Development Manager and Member of the Board of Directors at Çilek Furniture.

He worked in many domestic and international organizations in “Human Resources System Design, Performance Management Systems, Employee Rewarding Models, Strategic Planning, Talent Management, HR Digital Transformation and other Organizational Development” projects.

Mr. Ecertaş, who has been involved in civil society and youth studies since secondary education, has undertaken important responsibilities at various levels from the Provincial Organization to the Headquarters in the AK Party Youth Branches in 2012-2018. He still continues to volunteer in various youth-related NGOs.

Mr. Ecertaş has an excellent command of English and a good command of German and Arabic. He is married and has three children.

Ramazan Sarı graduated from Istanbul Technical University, Faculty of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Department of Aeronautical Engineering in 1987. He started his pilot career as a pilot candidate at Turkish Airlines in 1988. He started his piloting career with DC9 aircraft type and continued as a second pilot, captain pilot, instructor captain pilot and check pilot in RJ100, B737, A310, A320, A330, A340 and A350 aircraft types.

                                                                                  
In addition to his active pilot career, Ramazan Sarı has also served in various management positions within Turkish Airlines. Between 2018 and 2022, he served as Senior Vice President Flight Operations (Chief Pilot) at Turkish Airlines. In February 2022, Ramazan Sarı was appointed as the Senior Vice President General Aviation (VIP Aircraft) Operations at Turkish Airlines, a position he still holds. As of July 2023, he was also appointed as a member of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of Turkish Airlines.

Mr. Murat Mercan is both a diplomat and a scholar. 

He graduated from the Department of Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Engineering of Boğaziçi University in 1981. 

He received his Master's Degree from the same Department in 1984, and completed his Ph.D studies in 1989 at the Department of Decision and Information Sciences of the University of Florida. 

He then worked as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Quantitative Business Analysis of Cleveland State University and at the Department of Management of Bilkent University. He became an Associate Professor in 1995 and continued teaching at Bilkent University.
 
Ambassador Mercan is a Founding Member of AK Parti (the Justice and Development Party). He worked as a Member of the Party’s Central Decision Making and Administrative Board (2001-2009), and was Deputy for Eskişehir during the 22nd and 23rd terms of the Turkish Parliament. From 2002 until 2007, he was Chairman of the Turkish Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the Interparliamentary European Defense and Security Assembly, and the Vice-President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. He served as the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Turkish Grand National Assembly during the 23rd term of the Parliament (2007-2011), as Deputy Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of Türkiye (2012-2014) and as Chairman of the World Energy Council Turkish National Committee (2014-2017). 

In 2017, he was appointed as Turkish Ambassador to Japan and held this office until he assumed his duties as Ambassador of Türkiye to the U.S. in March of 2021. He retired on January 12,2024. Currently he teaches at İbn-i Haldun University and serves as a board member of Turkish Airlines.

Born in Ankara in 1973, Özgül Özkan Yavuz completed her primary, secondary, and high school education in Ankara. She graduated from the Faculty of Architecture, Department of City and Regional Planning at Middle East Technical University (METU) in 1995. While working as a research assistant in the “Urban Policy and Local Governments” program at METU’s Institute of Social Sciences, she earned her first MSc degree in 1998 with her thesis titled “Urban Regeneration Processes and Policies in Turkey.”

In 1999, she was awarded a European Union Jean Monnet Program scholarship and pursued her second master’s degree at the University of Birmingham, School of Public Policy, Centre for Urban and Regional Studies in the UK. Specializing in tourism planning and destination marketing, she completed her thesis titled “Planning and Management in Tourism Areas in Turkey” and earned another MSc degree.

Yavuz began her professional career in 1997 as an urban planner at the General Directorate of Investments of the Ministry of Tourism. From 2004 to 2007, she served in a diplomatic role as the Cultural and Tourism Attaché in the Netherlands. Between 2008 and 2010, she worked as the Director of International Promotion at the Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture Agency. From 2011 to 2014, she served as the Deputy Director of the Istanbul Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism.

Between 2014 and 2016, Yavuz was the General Manager of the Istanbul Convention and Visitors Bureau. During this period, she played a key role in bringing numerous international congresses and conventions to Istanbul and was elected to the Board of the European Cities Marketing Association, representing Istanbul internationally.

From 2016 to 2018, she served as Secretary General of the Istanbul Development Agency and was also a board member of the European Association of Development Agencies (EURADA) during this time.

Between 2019 and 2023, Özgül Özkan Yavuz served as Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism of Turkey, contributing to the development and implementation of various programs and events in the fields of culture, arts, and tourism.

She is married and speaks fluent English and intermediate Dutch.

Gülden Nacar, graduated in 2005 from Kelley School of Business at Indiana University, United States, with a double major in International Business and Marketing.

She began her professional career as a second-generation executive in her family business, Ayfleks Packaging, where she currently serves as General Manager and Board Member. She has played a leading role in its investment, production, export, and strategic growth processes. Her contributions have been particularly significant in business development and international market expansion.

In addition to her professional duties, Gülden Nacar is actively involved in civil society. She serves as a Substitute Board Member of the Women and Democracy Association (KADEM), contributing to initiatives aimed at strengthening the role of women in social and economic life.

From 2018 to 2023, she served as a Board Member of the Turkish Sports Federation for the Physically Disabled and Vice President of Paralympic Sailing. During this period, she played a key role in helping Turkey achieve its first-ever podium finish in international Paralympic sailing competitions.

Fluent in English, Gülden Nacar is married and the mother of three children.