About me
I'm an engineer by training, a builder by instinct. Born in the beautiful coastal town of Fethiye, raised in Istanbul, and based in Dubai. I've spent two decades inside businesses that were moving fast — and learned that the people who thrive are the ones who adapt without losing their edge.
What I do
What I believe
- ·Execution is the only strategy that matters.
- ·The best leaders make complexity invisible to their teams.
- ·AI is leverage, not a threat.
- ·Founders think differently — worth preserving inside large organizations.
- ·Chess teaches more about decisions than most MBA courses.
The story
Fethiye, Istanbul, and learning to adapt
Born in the beautiful coastal town of Fethiye, moved to Istanbul at six — already my fourth home. Three different primary schools before I was ten. You either break from that kind of change or you learn to adapt fast. I learned to adapt fast.
Koç University — where it started
Studied Electrical & Electronics Engineering at a time when Türkiye felt full of possibility — and Koç University was the new school everyone was betting on. Hard curriculum, high standards, serious people. It's now one of the best universities in the region. But the real gift wasn't the education. It was the people. The friendships I built there are the ones that have lasted a lifetime. Some things you only understand looking back.
The foundation
PwC, then Pfizer. Consulting and strategy work that taught me to think in numbers and hold up recommendations in rooms full of people who'd push back. That discipline never left.
The scale lesson
Joined Trendyol early — before the world knew what it would become. In the room with the CEO, CFO, CMO. Investor decks, global PR, the early infrastructure of what became Alibaba's biggest European acquisition. That's where I learned: execution is the strategy.
The deliberate pause
I had a startup idea burning. Instead of jumping, I joined Türkiye's largest telco — deliberately. Three years to learn how large organizations actually work, manage $500M+ in revenue, build a loyalty club with 750K members. I was preparing, not hiding.
The founder chapter
Built Türkiye's first re-commerce marketplace. 800 transactions a month, 90 NPS, Series A agreed — then the macro killed it. That failure taught me more than any success. And somewhere in the middle of all of it, my daughter was born. That's when I understood what real responsibility actually feels like. Everything recalibrates after that.
From launch to transformation
A new city, a new chapter. Moved to Dubai in 2017 — and started again. Launched GAP online across the GCC, then grew bloomingdale's from five to seven digits daily. Kept getting handed more — more brands, more complexity, more responsibility. I managed a large team of 40+ across a nine-digit USD P&L, overseeing some of the most recognized names in luxury and lifestyle fashion. Along the way I built and scaled omnichannel customer journeys — from customer identity management and CLV segmentation to loyalty programmes and seamless cross-channel experiences. On top of that, I'm currently supporting the company through a full ERP transformation — one of the most complex programs the group has ever run.
Want to work together or get advice?
I offer time for career coaching and strategic conversations. All I ask is a donation to a cause that matters.