Özgül Özkan Yavuz has served as an Independent Member of the Turkish Airlines Board of Directors since May 2025.

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.