CENGİZ SOLAKOĞLU

Chairman of the Board of Directors

Cengiz Solakoğlu graduated from the Istanbul Academy of Economics and Commercial Sciences in 1964 and started his professional career as a sales agent at Beko Ticaret A.Ş. in 1967. He was appointed General Manager at the same company in 1977. In 1983, Mr. Solakoğlu was appointed General Manager of the Atılım Şirketi under the Koç Group. During his eight-year tenure, he pioneered efforts to restructure and strengthen Arçelik’s “Authorized Dealer System.” Mr. Solakoğlu was appointed Vice Chairman of Koç Holding Consumer Goods Group in 1991, and then as Chairman of the same group in 1994. Also serving as a member of the Executive Committee of Koç Group between 1996 and 1998, he was appointed Chairman of Koç Holding Consumer Durables Group in 2002. After 38 years of continuous service, Mr. Solakoğlu retired from the Group in 2004, due to the Group policy of mandatory retirement at the age of 60. Mr. Solakoğlu is a Member and the Chairman of the Board of Directors at Bizim Toptan and at Şok Marketler A.Ş., a Yıldız Holding subsidiary in the retail industry. Cengiz Solakoğlu is among the founders of the Educational Volunteers Foundation of Turkey (TEGV) and the 1907 Fenerbahçe Association. He was named a Civil Society Leader by the Ekonomist magazine in 2003.

ALİ ÜLKER

Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors

Ali Ülker was born in 1969. Following his education at Istanbul Erkek Lisesi he graduated from the Business Administration Department of the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences at Boğaziçi University, Istanbul. Having participated at different education programs at IMD, INSEAD, Wharton, and Harvard, Ali Ülker worked in the Internal Kaizen Project at De Boccard & Yorke Consultancy (1992) and in IESC Sales System Development and Internal Organization Project (1997).

Ali Ülker started his career in 1985 as an intern in the quality control department of Ülker Gıda. From 1986 to 1998 he worked at chocolate production facilities and at Atlas Gıda Pazarlama in positions including sales manager, sales coordinator, product group coordinator, and product group director. In 1998 Mr. Ülker became General Director of Atlas Gıda Pazarlama, in 2000 Vice Chief of Retail Group, and in 2001 General Director of Merkez Gıda Pazarlama A.Ş. In 2002, he was appointed as Vice Chairman of the Food Group, and in 2005 as Chairman of the Group. In 2011 he started serving as Vice Chairman of the Yıldız Holding Board of Directors, and as of January 29, 2020, he became the Chairman of Yıldız Holding. He is also serving as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Yıldız International Food Investments Inc., which was established in December 2023.

Having deep expertise and experience in marketing and sales, Ali Ülker is especially interested in innovation and supports teams working on this within the Group. He enjoys mentoring young people, and loves being outdoors and in nature and doing sports. Fluent in English and German, Ali Ülker is married with three children.

MURAT ÜLKER

Board Member

Born in 1959, Murat Ülker graduated from the Management Department of the School of Administrative Sciences at Boğaziçi University, Istanbul.

Mr. Ülker studied sector-specific subjects at international schools such as the American Institute of Baking (AIB) and Zentralfachschule der Deutschen Süßwarenwirtschaft (ZDS), serving an internship at American company Continental Baking. In three years, Murat Ülker visited nearly 60 biscuit, chocolate and food factories in the United States and Europe. He also worked on various projects for the International Executive Service Corps (IESC).

Mr. Ülker joined the Group in 1984 as a Control Coordinator. Over the following years, he assumed the roles of Assistant General Manager, and then General Director. As a member of the Executive Committee and a Board Member of various companies in the Group, he led a series of cornerstone investments based on the “Vertical Integration” model.

In 2000, Mr. Ülker became Chairman of the Executive Committee, serving as Chairman for eight years. In 2008 he became Chairman of the Board of Directors. As of January 29, 2020, Mr. Ülker continues to take an active role in companies affiliated to the holding as a Member of the Board, and his role as the Chairman of the Board of Directors at pladis and Godiva.

Murat Ülker enjoys sailing, and traveling with his wife and three children. He is also known for his interest in modern art and Islamic calligraphy.

MEHMET TÜTÜNCÜ

Board Member

Mehmet Tütüncü completed his bachelor’s degree at Gazi University, Department of Mechanical Engineering, and his master’s degree at Maltepe University, Department of Industrial and Organizational Psychology. He attended training on Production, Quality Control and Maintenance Practices in Italy for six months with an IRI scholarship. He has certificates in various fields, including Strategic Marketing from Harvard Business School, and from IMD/Switzerland and Insead/Singapore. Starting his career as a Domestic Industry Specialist at the Ministry of Industry and Trade in 1981, Mehmet Tütüncü worked as Production Manager, Business Manager and General Manager at Best Rothmans Entegre Sigara ve Tütün Sanayi A.Ş. between 1987 and 1996. He started his first duty within Yıldız Holding as Business Coordinator at Ülker Gıda A.Ş. in 1996. Then he served as General Manager of Ülker Biscuits and Chocolate Plants, Vice President of Ülker Group, President of Food and Beverage Group, President of Food Group and President of Ülker International Group. In 2016, he was appointed as the Regional CEO responsible for Turkey, Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia at the pladis organization established within Yıldız Holding. In 2017, Tütüncü continued his duties as Deputy CEO, taking responsibility for the South Asia and Latin America regions and pladis Global Information Systems and Business Models Transformation. Since October 2018, he has been serving as Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of Yıldız Holding. Tütüncü is a member of the Board of Directors of TÜGİS, as well as member of many Turkish and foreign sectoral organizations.

YAHYA ÜLKER

Board Member

Yahya Ülker graduated from Koç University with a degree in Business Administration in 2016. Following his studies, he gained experience in banking and biscuit production through roles in various organizations in London and Switzerland.

In 2018, he joined Yıldız Holding, working at Northstar Innovation—the Holding’s innovation company—where he played an active role in developing forward-looking innovation projects through university and industry collaborations. Since 2019, he has led teams at Yıldız Ventures, which he founded, focusing on incubating in-house initiatives in sectors aligned with the Holding’s strategic vision and fostering the entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Currently serving as Yıldız Holding’s Transformation and Technology Leader, Yahya Ülker is also the E-Commerce Leader of ŞOK Marketler, one of Turkey’s leading retail brands. He is a founding member of Q Angels, an angel investor network in Turkey. Additionally, he serves as a Startup Mentor at Endeavor Turkey and is a member of the Digital Technologies Business Council at DEİK. In 2024, he joined the Board of Directors of the Yenibirlider Association.

MEHMET TAYFUN ÖKTEM

Independent Board Member

Tayfun Öktem graduated with honors from Darüşşafaka High School in 1982 and spent the 1980-1981 academic year in the USA as part of the AFS cultural exchange program.

In 1986, he earned his bachelor’s degree with honors in Business Administration from Boğaziçi University, followed by an MBA from the University of Minnesota (UMD) in 1988, where he was a full-scholarship student.

He also holds a certificate in Strategic Marketing Management from Harvard Business School and has held senior executive roles, including CEO and Board Member positions, in international and multinational companies such as Unilever, Reckitt Benckiser, Ülker International, and Alliance Healthcare, both in Turkey and abroad (London, Prague, Riyadh, and Copenhagen) with global responsibilities.

Between 2012 and 2018, he served two terms as an Independent Board Member at Nokia Turkey (Alcatel-Lucent Teletaş A.Ş.), followed by a term as Chairman of the Board of Directors at the Darüşşafaka Association from 2019 to 2022. During his tenure on the Boards, Öktem played an active role in Corporate Governance, Risk, and Donation/Resource Development & Communication committees. He is a member of the Darüşşafaka Cemiyeti High Advisory Board.

A graduate of Anadolu University’s Cookery Program in 2020 under the ‘2nd University’ initiative, Öktem is married, has one child, and speaks both English and German.

FATMA PINAR ILGAZ

Independent Board Member

Fatma Pınar Ilgaz graduated from Izmir Bornova Anatolian High School in 1983 and from the Faculty of Administrative Sciences, Department of Public Administration of Boğaziçi University in 1988. In 1989, she started her career in banking and continued as Assistant Finance Manager in the financial leasing sector. Since 1995, she works at the ARGE Consultancy department. She continues to provide management consultancy in various projects as a Managing Partner at ARGE Consultancy.

Within the scope of her expertise areas such as Strategic Assessment and Performance Improvement Projects, Institutionalization, Corporate Governance Structures and Sustainability Strategies, Integrated Thinking and Reporting, and Human Resources areas under ARGE Consultancy, Ms. Ilgaz has conducted management consultancy projects for more than 100 institutions and companies of different magnitudes and in different sectors. She serves at the Advisory Board of a food industry company with production and global sales activities.

She is Managing Partner at ARGE Consultancy (www.arge.com), Vice Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of the Argüden Governance Academy Foundation (www.argudenacademy.org), Board Member of the Association of Private Sector Volunteers (OSGD-www.osgd.org), Member of the Sustainability Committee of the Association of Women at the Board of Directors. She is an Independent Board Member of Ülker Bisküvi and Penta Teknoloji.

She was chosen for the “More Women on Boards” program and, along with 40 female managers in the first group selected in Turkey, successfully completed training courses: these included preparations for becoming an independent member of the boards of directors, information, and mentor referrals.

Ms. Ilgaz has co-authored books on Corporate Governance Models, Change Management, Sustainable Success Model, and Management of Volunteer Organizations.

AYTAÇ SANİYE MUTLUGÜLLER

Independent Board Member

Aytaç Saniye Mutlugüller obtained her undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Boğaziçi University and spent most of her professional life at the Şişecam Group, which operates in all fields of glass with production plants in 16 countries. She began her professional life as an assistant specialist for finance and then was directly involved in the domestic and overseas growth of the Group that adopted a centralized financial management style. Ms. Mutlugüller supported the development of a robust financial structure and played an active role as manager in the first-time implementation of various financial products. She represented the Group in several conferences as a speaker, in addition to her representative duties for foreign and domestic shareholders. After she retired as the Vice President for Finance, she served the Boards of four companies under the Group, provided advisory, and also supported the implementation of different projects.

Aytaç Saniye Mutlugüller is an Independent Board Member at ŞOK Marketler and at the same time Independent Member of the Board of Directors at Gözde Girişim Sermayesi Yatırım Ortaklığı A.Ş. and Penta Teknoloji Ürünleri Dağıtım Ticaret A.Ş.