Zekeriya Çoştu
Chairman of the Board
Zekeriya Çoştu
Support and Development Administration for Small and Medium-Scaled Enterprises
Zekeriya Çoştu graduated from Boğaziçi University, Department of Industrial Engineering in 2008. He worked as a commercial unit director and strategic planning consultant for organizations such as Turkish Airlines and TRT in his professional career.
Appointed in 2018 as the Director of the Project Management Office at the Ministry of Industry and Technology, Zekeriya Çoştu participated in processes and projects aiming at R&D and innovation activities and developing the technology ecosystem in Türkiye within the scope of the National Technology Move.
He also held the position of founding general director of the General Directorate of National Technology, established in April 2020 to ensure that the National Technology Movement has a stronger place in the institutional structuring of the public sector. He was appointed Deputy Minister of Industry and Technology on June 22, 2023.
Zekeriya Çoştu is married with two children and speaks English fluently.
Dr. Çetin Ali Dönmez
Board Member
Dr. Çetin Ali Dönmez
Dr. Çetin Ali Dönmez was born in Istanbul in 1967. He received his bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Boğaziçi University in 1989, his master’s degree in business administration from the same university in 1992, and his Ph.D. in 2006. He started his professional career in 1990 at the Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE) Equity Market Department. Particularly in the technological transformation project for Borsa Istanbul, he served as a business analyst, system designer, and team manager on numerous projects. After a short break from Borsa Istanbul to work as a market consultant, he worked as an analyst team manager in the establishment of a new market at Takasbank. After Takasbank, he returned to Borsa Istanbul. Çetin Ali Dönmez served as the technology project team leader and manager in charge of market operations in 2001, when the forward transactions and options market was opened for the first time in Türkiye.
Besides technical activities, he took an active role in market regulation and training of market professionals. After working as a derivatives markets manager, Çetin Ali Dönmez participated in the establishment of the ISE Risk Management Department and served as Risk Management Manager between 2006 and 2008.
Dönmez worked as General Manager and Board Member at the Derivatives Exchange from 2008 to 2012. He was Deputy General Manager at Borsa Istanbul between 2013 and 2016. Having worked as a management consultant for a while after his position at Borsa Istanbul, Dönmez lectured at Ibn Haldun University, Faculty of Management Sciences, Department of Business Administration between April 2017 and July 2018.
Dönmez has been Deputy Minister of Industry and Technology since 2018 and is married with two children.
Oruç Baba İnan
Board Member
Oruç Baba İnan
Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye
Born in 1981 in Çayırbaşı Village of Konya’s Yunak district, Oruç Baba İnan completed his primary and secondary education in Konya and then enrolled in Boğaziçi University’s business administration program.
After graduating from Boğaziçi University in 2005, Mr. İnan started his career at Yıldız Holding, where he worked in various positions in sales, category management, and brand management for seven years before joining Anadolu Birlik Holding (Konya Şeker) as Business Development Director in 2012.
In early 2013, he was appointed Vice Chief Executive Officer of AB Holding and General Manager of Konya Şeker following his involvement in various corporate transformation projects within the Holding.
In 2015, he joined Turkcell as Commercial Marketing Director and Consumer Technologies Director, following his role in the creation of the Torku brand within the AB Holding family. He became Head of Strategy Development at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in 2018.
Mr. İnan, who started working as Deputy CEO at Kastamonu Entegre in 2020, was appointed as Deputy Minister of Industry and Technology on June 22, 2023.
Prof. Dr. Ahmet Yozgatlıgil
Board Member
Prof. Dr. Ahmet Yozgatlıgil
Turkish Patent and Trademark Office
Prof. Dr. Ahmet Yozgatlıgil, who was born in 1975, completed his undergraduate and graduate studies at the METU Mechanical Engineering Department. In 2005, he received his Ph.D. in the field of energy from Drexel University in the United States. He continued his studies as a faculty member at the University of Maryland in the USA and as a researcher at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
Yozgatlıgil joined the Middle East Technical University Department of Mechanical Engineering in 2007 and was promoted to associate professor in 2014 and professor in 2019. As a guest researcher, he worked on engine technologies and combustion at NASA Glenn Research Center, NIST, and Argonne National Laboratory in the United States, JAMIC (Japan Microgravity Center) in Japan, and CNRS in France.
Prof. Dr. Ahmet Yozgatlgil was the Vice Chancellor responsible for research, innovation, and internationalization at METU from 2016 to 2020, as well as the Vice Chairman of the METU Teknokent Executive Board. He was the Chairman of the Executive Board and Center Director at the Izmir Biomedicine and Genome Center (IBG), as well as a Board Member at the METU MEMS Center and TÜBİTAK UZAY. Prof. Dr. Yozgatlıgil, who previously served as Vice President of TÜBİTAK and President of the TÜBİTAK Marmara Research Center, was also the President of the EUREKA network, which has 47 member countries and is headquartered in Brussels, until June 2023.
Prof. Dr. Yozgatlıgil, who is married and has two children, was appointed as Deputy Minister of Industry and Technology on June 22, 2023.
Prof. Dr. Hacı Ali Mantar
Board Member
Prof. Dr. Hacı Ali Mantar
Gebze Technical University
Prof. Dr. Hacı Ali Mantar was born in Zile, Tokat in 1969. He received his master’s degree in 1998 and his Ph.D. in 2003 at the Department of Computer Engineering at Syracuse University in New York, USA, after graduating from the Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering at Istanbul Technical University in 1993.
Prof. Dr. Mantar, who started working in 2004 as the Founding Chairman of the Department of Computer Engineering at Harran University, worked as a faculty member in the Department of Computer Engineering at Gebze Technical University in 2006. He became an associate professor at Gebze Technical University in 2010 and a professor in 2015.
Prof. Dr. Mantar served as a Board Member of TÜBİTAK ULAKBİM (National Academic Network and Information Center) from 2006 to 2018, as well as on the Committee of the European Union Cyber Security Agency in 2010. He began serving as a member of the Turkish Academy of Sciences in 2013, and he is still doing so.
Prof. Dr. Hacı Ali Mantar, who also worked as a part-time lecturer at the Naval Academy, Işık University and Doğuş University between 2006-2014, advised master’s and doctoral students on their graduation projects during this period.
After serving on various committees at TÜBİTAK ARDEB (Research Support Programs Presidency) and TÜBİTAK TEYDEB (Technology and Innovation Support Programs Presidency), Prof. Dr. Mantar was appointed as Vice President of Test and Evaluation at TÜBİTAK BİLGEM (Informatics and Information Security Advanced Technologies Research Center) in January 2015 and as the Head of TÜBİTAK BİLGEM Center between June 2015 and 2020.
Prof. Dr. Hacı Ali Mantar, who served as the Chairman of the Executive Board of HAVELSAN between May 2018 and June 2020, served as the Vice Chairman between June 2020 and May 2022. As of May 16, 2022, he was re-elected as the Chairman of the Executive Board of HAVELSAN and has been serving in this position. Prof. Dr. Mantar, who served as Vice Chancellor of ITU between August 2021 and August 2022, was appointed as the Rector of Gebze Technical University on August 4, 2022.
Prof. Dr. Hacı Ali Mantar is married with 4 children.
Assoc. Prof. Tahir Büyükakın
Board Member
Doç. Dr. Tahir Büyükakın
Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality
Assoc. Prof. Tahir Büyükakın was born in 1969 in Derince district of Kocaeli. He graduated from Istanbul University, Faculty of Political Sciences, Department of Public Administration in 1992.
In 1993, he worked as a research assistant at the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Department of Economics, Kocaeli University. He received his master’s and doctorate degrees at Istanbul University in 1995 and 2001.
He was appointed in 2002 as an Assistant Professor at Kocaeli University, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Department of Economics, Department of Economic Policy. In 2007, he was appointed as Deputy Head of the Department. With his studies in macroeconomics, Büyükakın received the title of associate professor in 2013. He developed projects on economic crises and stabilization policies.
Büyükakın, who worked as a consultant at Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality between 2005 and 2007, developed the Metropolitan Municipality’s and Water Canal Administration’s strategic plan. He was appointed Deputy Secretary General of Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality at the end of 2007, and he had the position of Secretary General in 2014. With the decision of the Council of Ministers and the approval of the President, he was appointed as Governor of Bilecik in June 2017, and he served as Governor of Bilecik until his candidacy for Mayor of Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality. He was elected Mayor of Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality in the March 31st Local Administration Elections.
Tahir Büyükakın is married with three children and speaks English fluently.
Ayhan Zeytinoğlu
Board Member
Ayhan Zeytinoğlu
Kocaeli Chamber of Industry
Ayhan Zeytinoğlu completed his undergraduate education in London after completing his primary, secondary, and high school education in Gölcük/Kocaeli. Mr. Zeytinoğlu received his master’s degree in business administration from Indiana University in the United States in 1980 and his Ph.D. in International Finance from Butler University in 1985. He is currently working on his Ph.D. on European Union Agricultural Subsidies at Marmara University, European Community Institute.
He works as General Manager at Zeytinoğlu Yem Tarım ve Endüstriyel Ürünler A.Ş., a family business. Ayhan Zeytinoğlu is also the Deputy Chairman of Autoport Port Management, a joint venture between Arkas and Zeytinoğlu Group, and the General Coordinator of Zeytinoğlu Denizcilik A.Ş.
He was a founding member of the Kocaeli Chamber of Industry in 1989 and has continued to serve on its Executive Board to this day. He was appointed Vice Chairman in 1995 and Chairman of the Executive Board of the Kocaeli Chamber of Industry in January 2009. He was re-elected in the chamber elections held in May 2013, April 2018 and October 2022 and continues to serve as the Chairman of the Executive Board of Kocaeli Chamber of Industry.
He was elected as an Industry Council Member at the 79th General Assembly of TOBB in May 2023. He was elected Chairman of the Executive Board of the Economic Development Foundation (IKV), a non-governmental and research organization specialized in EU and Türkiye-EU relations, in July 2015. He is still serving in this position.
Prof. Dr. Yusuf Baran
Board Member
Prof. Dr. Yusuf Baran
Izmir Institute of Technology
Prof. Dr. Yusuf Baran graduated from Dicle University, Faculty of Education, Department of Biology Teaching in 1998. Yusuf Baran received his master’s degree from METU in 2002 and his Ph.D. degree in 2006. During his doctoral studies, he worked as a guest researcher at the Medical University of South Carolina with a NATO-A2 scholarship (July 2005-2006).
Prof. Dr. Yusuf Baran has over 40 scientific research projects funded by various institutions, over 500 scientific articles published, papers presented at national and international congresses, and a book on Cancer Molecular Biology.
He gave over 400 lectures at national and international meetings/ congresses/forums on science, technology and diplomacy. He was invited to and lectured at major meetings such as the United Nations, European Parliament, World Science Forum, Baku Forum, World Economic Forum, World Life Sciences Forum, Science Diplomacy, Science Leadership, G20 Research and Digital Ministers Summit. Prof. Dr. Baran has received over a hundred awards from national and international organizations.
Prof. Dr. Baran has been the Rector of the Izmir Institute of Technology and the Chairman of the Executive Board of the Izmir Technology Development Zone since November 28, 2018. On June 21, 2022, Prof. Dr. Baran was elected as Chairman of the Interuniversity Board. Prof. Dr. Yusuf Baran was elected as a member of Bilişim Vadisi’s Executive Board on April 14, 2023, with a focus on cancer molecular biology, science and technology policies, and science diplomacy.
Kübra Bayraktar Şişman
Board Member
Kübra Bayraktar Şişman
Kübra Bayraktar graduated from Near East University, Department of International Relations. She completed her master’s degree at Bahçeşehir University, Department of Business Administration. She has conducted academic research on the strategic planning process, the feasibility of investment projects, policy making in the active, economic, and efficient use of resources.
In 2007, she started working at the Directorate of EU Affairs of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. She worked first as an Assistant Manager in the EU Affairs Directorate and then as a Manager. Meanwhile, she was actively involved in the development and management of nearly 160 EU and Istanbul Development Agency projects. She participated in various international events as a speaker (Smart Future EXPO – 2018, Regional Living Lab Summit – 2018, World Cities Congress – 2018). Kübra Bayraktar founded Zemin Istanbul Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center in 2018 and served as its Director. She prepared a glossary of innovation terms. In 2014, she won the title of “Woman Leader in Public Sector” at IDC-Women in Turkey Technology Sector event.
She is currently working as a consultant in the field of entrepreneurship and innovation, and she has been serving as the General Manager of Çocuk İçin İçerik Derneği (Content Association for Children) Commercial Enterprise since 2019.
Kübra Bayraktar, who speaks English fluently and Italian and Arabic intermediately, is married with two children.
Erkam Tüzgen
General Manager of Bilisim Vadisi
Erkam Tüzgen
General Manager of Bilisim Vadisi
Erkam Tüzgen completed his undergraduate education at Çanakkale 18 Mart University, Faculty of Medicine in 2012. He worked as a Community Health Center physician, Deputy Provincial Health Director, Provincial Health, and Public Health Director respectively in Hakkari between December 2012 and May 2014. Besides the reforms he introduced during his time in Hakkari, he was the first in Türkiye to implement the remote candidate civil servant training, which is now widely used. He then served as District Health Director in Beşiktaş and Üsküdar. He worked as the Deputy Director of the Istanbul Provincial Health Directorate and Chairman of the Istanbul Organ Transplantation Ethics Commission between April 2015 and November 2016.
He served as the founding Secretary General at Ibn Haldun University between December 2016 and May 2020 and as the Secretary General of Istanbul Development Agency between May 2020 and November 2023. He has initiated over 200 projects within the Development Agency. He realized the first Social Impact Bond contract in Türkiye. He led the Regional Venture Fund program, the first among development agencies, to invest on behalf of the public in 10 different funds established in four countries. He served as a Board Member of the European Development Agencies Association between 2021-2023.
Serving as the General Manager of Bilişim Vadisi since November 30, 2023, Tüzgen is married to Nagehan Pakdamar Tüzgen and is the father of Eslem, Benan, and Selman.