EMİNE SABANCI KAMIŞLI

CHAIR

Emine S. Kamışlı was born in Adana in 1966. She received her BSc Degree in Economies of Industry and Commerce from The London School of Economics in 1987. Mrs. Kamışlı worked for Willis Corroon reassurance brokerage company in London and returned back to Turkey in 1989. She joined Aksigorta as the Director of Commerce. She had responsibilities such as the Executive Board Member of Aksigorta, Akhayat and Sabancı Holding prior to the establishment of Esas. Mrs. Kamışlı co-founded Esas Holding with Mr. Şevket Sabancı in 2000 and is currently in charge of treasury and wealth management, and management of the family office.

HAYIRLI SABANCI

Painter Hayırlı Sabancı was born in Adana in 1943. For many years, she has been an active philanthropist, providing scholarships to students, supporting charities and funding the development of institutions for the delivery of basic social services. Mrs. Sabancı has played an active role in the development of Esas Social, which serves as a collective structure for the philanthropic investments of the family.

ALİ SABANCI

Ali Sabancı was born in Adana in 1969. After specializing in Politics and Economics at Tufts University in US, he worked for Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc. until 1993. He received his MBA degree with a major in International Finance at Columbia Business School in 1995 and then returned to Turkey. He had various duties in Akbank. In 1997, Ali Sabancı assumed the responsibility of Head of Projects in Sabancı Holding, then became the Executive Vice President of Strategy and Business Development in 2001. Mr. Sabancı, Chairman of Pegasus Airlines since 2005 manages Esas’ aviation investments.

KAZIM KÖSEOĞLU

After completing his undergraduate studies of Business Administration and German Language Studies at Brown University in the US, he earned his Masters degree in Finance and Banking at the City University of London Case Business School. He then worked as an investment analyst at F&C asset management company in London for 2.5 years. He currently serves as a Board Member of Esas Real Estate and has an active role in national and international investments.

CAN KÖSEOĞLU

Can Köseoğlu was born in London in 1985. He received his BA degree at Tufts University in Boston in 2008. After college, he joined the Esas Holding food group and worked in various group companies. In 2014 he founded his own company and is operating in the food retail sector under the Donerstop brand. He is currently the Chairman of the board of CZK Lokantacılık A.Ş.

H. ÇAĞATAY ÖZDOĞRU

Çağatay Özdoğru leads Esas Private Equity business and is a member of the Private Equity Investment Committees.

Prior to joining Esas in 2005, Mr. Özdoğru was the President of IT & Telecommunications Group at Sabancı Holding. Previously, he held various positions at France Telecom Group, where he last served as the Executive Vice President of the REEMEA region. He was also a member of the Global Operating Committee.

Mr. Özdoğru graduated from Istanbul Technical University with a degree in Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering and received his M.S. degree in Telecommunications Engineering from George Washington University.

Çağatay Özdoğru served on the boards of UN Ro-Ro, Mars Cinema Group and Peyman until exit and sits on the boards of Pegasus Airlines, Mars Sportif, Korozo and Ayakkabı Dünyası.

ÖZLEM AKGÜN EŞMELER

Esas Sosyal Director

Serving as Esas Sosyal Director, Özlem Akgün Eşmeler is responsible for developing Esas Sosyal programs and managing corporate communications and corporate relations.

Akgün Eşmeler has 15 years experience in Human Resources in a spesific focus on Learning and Development, Talent Development and Career Management. Between 2010-2019, she served for Yapı Kredi Bank and took significant role in Strategic Human Resources, Yapı Kredi Banking Academy activities and served as L&D consultant for Koç Holding and Unicredit CEE Region countries. Prior to that, she had experience in Akbank and Garanti Bank taking responsiblities esteblishing and implementing L&D projects.

During her last position as Learning and Development Manager at İstek Group Companies, she restructured L&D policy and functions.

Özlem Akgün Eşmeler has received her first B.S degree in Public Administration and second degree in Labor Economics and Endustrial Relations from İstanbul University.

FİLİZ BİKMEN

Senior Advisor

More than 20 years of experience in philanthropy and social investment, in Turkey and globally. Served as Founding Director of Esas Sosyal between 2015-2020 and continues as a Senior Advisor. Also serves as Senior Advisor to EMpower Emerging Markets Foundation and provides consulting on various international social investment initiatives. Member of editorial Board member of Alliance Magazine. Formerly part of senior management of Sabanci Foundation and Third Sector Foundation of Turkey , served on Boards of European Foundation Center, International Center for Not for Profit Law (Chair). Former management consultant at global firms including UBS, Andersen Consulting and Citibank. Awards include Richard von Weizscaker Fellow/Bosch Foundation, Emerging Leaders Fellow / Graduate Center. Author of more than 30 publications, most recently: ‘Philanthropy Networks: Creating Value, Voice and Collective Impact’ (WINGS, 2020) and ‘More than the Sum of its Parts: Insights on the Future of European Philanthropy and Social Investment Infrastructure’ (Wider Sense, 2019). Masters in Social and Organizational Psychology  from Columbia University.

ECE AKYEL

Program Development Specialist

Ece Akyel earned her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Dokuz Eylul University in 2015. She has took the first step in the area of Civil Society as a TEGV volunteer for 4 years. After graduation, she started her career in civil society and humanitarian.  She worked as a “Social Worker” for İzmir “Sustainable Life Center" project, which was supported by the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations. Then, she worked as an “Activity Officer” resposible for creating and implementing social projects for young people. Finally, she worked for "My Future Youth Centre" projects  ensuring young people have access to sustainable employement that suits their talents and skills. She also completed her master's degree in Maltepe University, Department of Sociology, in the sociology of work on the white-collar working group. She joined the Esas Social team in August 2021.

YİĞİT GÜRBÜZ

Corporate Communications Specialist

Yiğit Gürbüz started his career in 2017 as a Corporate Communications Officer at AÇEV as a participant in the Esas Social First Opportunity Program. After 2 years of experience in AÇEV, Gürbüz worked for Coşkunöz Holding as Corporate Communications Officer for about 2 years. As of October 2020, he has joined the Esas Sosyal team as a Corporate Communications Specialist. Yiğit Gürbüz graduated from Akdeniz University Public Relations Department. Preparing projects for various communication competitions in his university life, he received 3 awards with his successful projects.