BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Prof. Dr. A. Alev Gerçeker

She was born in Istanbul in 1961. She graduated from FMV Işık High School in 1978 and from Marmara University, Faculty of Pharmacy in 1982.  

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Between 1982 and 1984, she established blood bag production in cooperation with Biotest GmbH at Kansuk A.Ş. While working at United German Pharmaceutical Factories T.A.Ş. between 1984 and 1988, she worked in the microbiology laboratories of Bayer AG (Leverkusen) and Schering AG (Berlin) in order to develop the company's microbiology laboratory and ensure its operation in accordance with GMP.

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In 1988, she started working as a research assistant at Istanbul University, Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Microbiology. In 1994, she completed her Ph.D. at I.U. Faculty of Medicine, Department of Microbiology and Clinical Microbiology. With the TÜBİTAK Postdoctoral NATO B1 scholarship she received in 1995, she took part in a research on the development of immunotherapeutic vaccines at Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Channing Laboratory, Boston. Between 1997-1999 she was appointed as a research fellow at the same university. She received the title of Associate Professor in 1997 and became a Professor in microbiology in 2003. Between 2000-2003, she served as a member of the Board of Directors of I.U. Faculty of Pharmacy. Until her retirement in 2012 she worked as an instuctor and researcher at I.U. Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmaceutical Microbiology. As a lecturer she conducted Pharmaceutical Microbiology, Immunology and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology courses to undergraduate students; supervised M.Sc. and Ph.D. theses to graduated students, served in various commissions at I.U. and contributed to solving the problems of the industry. 

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In 2011, with the aim of creating a natural and safe environment for children who do not have one and/or both parents and not the opportunity to have an happy summer holiday a land of 35 decares was purchased in Çanakkale Province. In 2017 the project has been started with children from Darüşşafaka and in 2021 the Güneşane Vakfı (Foundation) was established. 

Saffet Karpat

Saffet Karpat is a Turkish & Swiss citizen educated in Turkey and graduated from Istanbul University Business Administration. He completed his Master degree in Lausanne University. He joined and worked for Procter & Gamble in different countries and assignments in Switzerland, Arabian Gulf, Turkey, Italy and Belgium. He was the Chief Executive officer of Procter & Gamble Turkey/ Central Asia / Caucasia & Israel and retired in 2013. Then he held independent director board positions in Genesis London, Sutas and Eczacibasi Company in Turkey until 2024. He speaks Turkish, English, French and basic Italian and has 2 children.

Çağla Bozkurt Güzel

She was born in Konya. She completed primary school in Balıkesir and attended high school at Çanakkale Anadolu High School in Çanakkale. In 2000, she graduated from the Faculty of Pharmacy at Istanbul University. In 2003, she completed her Master's degree in the Department of Pharmaceutical Microbiology at the same faculty. She then pursued her doctoral studies in the Department of Microbiology and Clinical Microbiology at Istanbul University’s Faculty of Medicine. Between 2010 and 2012, with the support of her Master's and PhD advisor, Prof. Dr. A. Alev Gerçeker, she undertook her postdoctoral education in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Harvard Medical School in Boston, USA. In 2013, she was appointed as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Microbiology at Istanbul University’s Faculty of Pharmacy, and in 2015, she became an Associate Professor. Since August 2021, she has been continuing her work at the same faculty with the title of Professor. She is married and the mother of three daughters.

Duygu Yılmaz

She graduated from Boğaziçi University Faculty of Business Administration in 1998. She began her professional career in the Turkey office of PriceWaterhouse-Coopers (PwC) in 1998. Between 2005 and 2008, she served as Group Head of Financial Planning and Administrative Affairs at Yapı Kredi Bank. In 2008, she joined Sütaş Group as Internal Audit Coordinator, and since 2011, she has been serving as the Head of Audit and a Board Member. She is also the Chair of the Sustainability Committee and a member of the Corporate Governance Committee at Sütaş Group. Duygu Yılmaz serves as Vice President at the Business Council for Sustainable Development Turkey (SKD Türkiye) and the Corporate Governance Association of Turkey (TKYD).

Nazım Olcay Kurt

He graduated from Marmara University Faculty of Law in 2002 and earned his master’s degree in law from Istanbul Commerce University in 2006. Currently, he is pursuing a Ph.D. in private law at Yeditepe University. Since 2001, he has been working at Hergüner Bilgen Üçer Attorney Partnership, where he is a partner. He has extensive experience in real estate law and disputes, residential and commercial real estate development projects, and structuring the real estate aspects of infrastructure and energy projects.

He is the founder and a member of the High Advisory Board of the Ethical Values Center Association (EDMER). Additionally, he is a member of the Corporate Governance Association of Turkey (TKYD), a board member of the Real Estate Strategy Platform (GİSP), and one of the founders of the International Law Institute (ILI) Istanbul chapter.

Göktürk Işıkpınar

Göktürk Işıkpınar was born in Istanbul in 1971. He graduated from the Economics Department of University College London in 1996. Since 2011, he has been serving as the Deputy General Manager at Ak Portföy, overseeing Equity, Alternative Investments, Venture Capital Investment Funds, Real Estate Investment Funds, Renewable Energy Investment Funds, and Commodity Funds. Ak Portföy manages assets worth $24 billion. He has over 25 years of experience in capital markets. He is married to Dilek Işıkpınar and is the father of Deniz Çınar, born in 2017, and Deniz Rüzgar, born in 2019.

Yigit Eroğlu

Yiğit Eroğlu was born in 1985 in Istanbul. After graduating from Özel Üsküdar Science High School, he earned his degree in Geological Engineering from Istanbul Technical University in 2009. During his university years, he founded the ITU Sailing Club and served as both training coordinator and president. In 2005, he obtained the RYA Yachtmaster Offshore and Cruising Instructor certificates in the United Kingdom, granting him professional sailing training authorization. With over 15,000 nautical miles of sailing experience, he has completed an Atlantic crossing and navigated in the waters of the United Kingdom, the Mediterranean, the Aegean, and the Marmara Seas. He is also actively involved in yacht racing and offshore competitions. In 2009, he co-founded Hedef Yelken, which provides sailing training and team-building programs. Through this initiative, he pioneered Turkey’s first Floating Office Project and organized the country’s largest yacht race. Since 2019, he has been working as an executive and foreign trade specialist at CVHR Foreign Trade, Logistics, and Consulting Inc., which he founded. In 2014, he participated in the International Camping Congress held in Antalya and earned the title of Certified Camp Director. He is married and the father of twin boys.