Board of directors

Suzan Sabancı Dinçer is the Chairman of Akbank. Mrs. Sabancı Dinçer is also a board member of Sabancı Holding and a member of the Board of Trustees of Sabancı University and the Sabancı Foundation. In 2009, Mrs Sabanci Dinçer founded the Akbank International Advisory Board and currently serves as its chairman.

Suzan Sabancı Dinçer began her career in banking in 1986 and joined Akbank as Executive Vice President in charge of Treasury in 1989. Having specialized in Treasury and Risk Management, she has been active in these two subjects since 1993. In 1997, she was named Executive Board Member for Treasury and International Banking Relations. Mrs Sabancı Dinçer was appointed as Executive Board Member to oversee the bank-wide change and transition program in 2001. She was named Chairman in March, 2008.

Mrs. Sabancı Dinçer is a member of the Institute of International Finance Board of Directors and Emerging Markets Advisory Board, Harvard University’s Global Advisory Council, Harvard Business School’s Global Leaders Circle, and an emeritus member of the Harvard Business School’s Middle East and North Africa Advisory Board. Suzan Sabancı Dinçer is also co-chair of the New York-based American-Turkish Society, as well as a member of the Global Board of Advisors at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), the Board of Managing Directors of Venetian Heritage, Inc, and the Cultural and Social Affairs Committee of the Serpentine Council respectively.

From 2010 to 2014, Suzan Sabancı Dinçer served as the chairman of the Turkish-British Business Council for two terms. From 2009 to 2016, Mrs. Sabancı Dinçer sat on the Global Board of Advisors of Chatham House and she is currently a member of the Chatham House Chairman’s Circle. In 2012, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II awarded Mrs. Sabancı Dinçer the title of "Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE)" in recognition of her proactive and influential contributions to the development of Turkey-UK relations. Having previously served as an Advisory Board Member for The Prince's Charities, Mrs. Sabancı Dinçer is currently a Patron of Prince’s Trust International, a highly prestigious charity organisation set up by King Charles III, then The Prince of Wales, in 1976 and aimed at promoting the development of young people.

Suzan Sabancı Dinçer is strongly committed to corporate social responsibility activities and assumes various positions in the fields of culture, education, and the promotion of entrepreneurship. Between 2014 and 2018, Sabancı Dinçer acted as the Advisory Board President of the Women on Board Association Turkey, dedicated to promoting social development by increasing female representation on boards. She is a founding member and board member of the leading high-impact entrepreneurship movement, Endeavor Turkey, a founding and honorary member of the Women Entrepreneurs Association of Turkey, and chairman of the Executive Advisory Board and member of the board of patrons of the Contemporary Istanbul Art Fair. Mrs. Sabancı Dinçer acted as Luxembourg’s Honorary Consul in Istanbul between 2005 and 2022 for 17 years. In 2014, Mrs. Sabancı Dinçer was given the Order of Civil Merit (Orden del Mérito Civil) of the Kingdom of Spain by King Felipe VI of Spain for her contributions to the relations between the two countries and for her support to the cultural convergence.

Suzan Sabancı Dinçer holds a BA in Finance from Richmond College in the UK and an MBA from Boston University in the USA. Ms. Sabancı Dinçer is married with two children.

Eyüp Engin joined Akbank in 1978 as an Assistant Internal Auditor. Following his auditing assignment, Eyüp Engin served as Department Head in Treasury, International Banking and Overseas Financial Institutions. He was appointed as the Executive Vice President in charge of Corporate Banking in 1996 and after 1998, Engin continued to serve as Executive Vice President in charge of International Banking and Overseas Financial Institutions Marketing.

Eyüp Engin was appointed to the position of Head of Internal Audit in 2007 and during 2007-2019 he served on Boards of Directors of Bank's subsidiaries as the President of Audit Committee. He is a graduate of Middle East Technical University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration. Engin was elected as Executive Board Member in March 2019 and he was elected as Vice Chairman and Executive Board Member in March 2020.

Additionally, Eyüp Engin is Banking Unit President and Executive Committee Member of Sabancı Holding.

Ahmet Fuat Ayla was elected as Executive Board Member in charge of credits as of 12 July 2017. Ahmet Fuat Ayla joined Akbank as Corporate Branch Manager in 2002, became the Senior Vice President in charge of Corporate and Commercial Credits Approval Unit in 2005 and was appointed as Executive Vice President in charge of Corporate and Commercial Credits Approval in 2007. Before joining Akbank, Ahmet Fuat Ayla worked in marketing and sales department positions at Head Office and branches at different private sector banks. Ahmet Fuat Ayla is a graduate of Middle East Technical University, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Department of Business Administration.

Yaman Törüner became a member of the Board of Directors in March 1998. Having served as a Member of Parliament between 1995 and 1999, Yaman Törüner also served as a Minister of State in 1996. Between 1990 and 1994, Yaman Törüner served as the President of the Istanbul Stock Exchange and from 1972 until 1990 he worked in various administrative positions within the Central Bank of Turkey, also serving as the Governor of the Central Bank of Turkey between February 1994 and January 1996. 

Emre Derman has led numerous large cross-border transactions in Turkey as a partner with the international law firm White & Case between 1989 and 2008. In addition to his work in Turkey he has worked in the New York and London offices of the firm and also in former Soviet Union and Eastern European countries during his term as a lawyer for the EBRD in 1994 to 1995. A former board member of Akbank in 2010, Derman has served as a Managing Director and the Senior Country Officer of JP Morgan in Turkey between 2011 and 2014. He is a member of various organizations relating to education and yacht racing and serves as a freelance consultant. Derman holds an LL.B. from Istanbul University Law School and an LL.M. from Harvard Law School.

Özgür Demirtaş got his BS degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Boğaziçi University in 1998. He earned his Ph.D. degree in Finance from Boston College in 2003. In the same year, he was appointed as a tenure track Assistant Professor at Baruch College, City University of New York. In 2007, he earned a tenured Associate Professor position.  He was awarded with one of the prestigious medals of the University: The presidential Award for Teaching Excellence. His research is also awarded by Eugene M Lang foundation and Marie Curie Reintegration program. He published more than 30 academic articles in various academic journals. He taught at Boston College, CUNY, NYU Stern School of Business and in 2012, he joined Sabancı University as a Chair Professor of Finance. Since 2014, Professor Demirtaş is the founding chairman of the Center of Excellence in Finance (CEF) at Sabanci University.

Orhun Köstem received his bachelor’s degree from Middle East Technical University Mechanical Engineering Department in 1991 and completed his MBA program at the same university. He also has a master’s degree in Finance and Corporate Law from Bilgi University. 

Mr. Köstem joined Anadolu Group in 1994 and held various management positions until 2008. In 2008, he was appointed as the CFO of Efes Breweries International and in 2009 continued his career as Corporate Finance Coordinator of Anadolu Group. Mr. Orhun Köstem pursued his career in Coca-Cola İçecek where he worked from 2010 to 2016 as the CFO and from 2017 to 2018 as the Regional Director responsible for Middle East and Pakistan. Mr. Köstem served as the CFO of Anadolu Efes between 2019 and 2021. Mr. Köstem is the Group CFO of Sabancı Holding since July 1, 2021. He is also the Chairman of Carrefoursa, Vice Chairman of Sabancı İklim Teknolojileri, Supervisory Board Member of Cimsa Sabanci Cement BV and Member of the Board of Directors of Kordsa, Enerjisa Enerji and Enerjisa Üretim. 

Mr. Köstem is one of the three authors of the book “A Window to Capital Markets: The A to Z of Public Offering and Investor Relations” published in 2009. In 2016, 2019, 2020 and 2021 he was listed among “Turkey’s Most Influential 50 CFOs”, according to a research conducted by BMI Business School in collaboration with DataExpert. He was awarded as Turkey’s Best CFO in the Investor Relations Awards organized by Thomson Reuters Extel in 2011 and 2013, while he was also honored with the “Best CFOs” by Sell Side analysts in Consumer Sector in Emerging EMEA by Institutional Investor Magazine and Institutional Investor Research Group in 2020. Mr. Köstem ranked as Best CFO for the Institutional Investor 2022 Emerging EMEA Equity Awards, among industrial institutions. He also named among C-Suite Series – Fortune CFO 2022 list. He is also a member of CFA Society and CFO Network of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).

Tuğrul Belli started his professional career at Iktisat Bank’s Corporate Finance Department in 1990. He started serving as General Secretary at Turkish Bank in 1994, and participated in the foundation of Turkish Yatırım in 1997, a subsidiary of the bank. He served as a Member of the Board of Directors of the company until 2005, and also served as General Manager for a period. He still serves as an Economics Advisor at Turkish Bank. Belli taught at İstanbul Ticaret University on “Banking Management” between 2006 and 2012. Belli has been an op-ed columnist of Dünya Daily since 2008. An alumni of American Robert College, he holds an undergraduate degree from London School of Economics and Political Science, and a graduate degree from CUNY Baruch College.

Levent Demirağ joined Sabancı Holding as a Consultant in 1994, became Financial Affairs Director in 2007, and served as the President of Financial Affairs, Accounting and Investor Relations from May 2010 to September 2021. He also served as a member of the board of directors in Sabancı Holding group companies. He has Sworn-in Certified Public Accountant and Independent Auditor certificates. Levent Demirağ graduated from Ankara University, Faculty of Political Sciences in 1980 and worked as a tax inspector at the Ministry of Finance before joining the Group.

Hakan Binbaşgil joined Akbank as the Executive Vice President in charge of Change Management in October 2002. He initiated the Bank's "Restructuring Programme" which has transformed Akbank into one of Turkey's most customer-focused, modern and innovative financial institutions. Hakan Binbaşgil was appointed Executive Vice President in charge of Retail Banking in November 2003, Deputy CEO in May 2008, and since January 2012 as Board Member and Chief Executive Officer of the Bank. He also serves as Chairman of Akbank AG Supervisory Board.

Prior to joining Akbank, Binbaşgil worked as a Management Consultant in the London and Istanbul offices of Accenture, and as Executive Vice President in a different private sector bank. Binbaşgil also served on the boards of directors of numerous companies domestically and abroad.​

After graduating from Robert College, Hakan Binbaşgil graduated from Bosphorus ​University, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. Binbaşgil also holds MBA and MS degrees in Finance from Louisiana State University-Baton Rouge, USA.