The Board of Directors

Mr. A. Murat Uluğ graduated from Istanbul Technical University with a bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering and from Manchester Business School and Istanbul Bilgi University’s combined Executive MBA program with a master’s degree. After beginning his career at Garanti Bank in 1992 as a management trainee, Mr. Uluğ went on to work at HSBC and ABN AMRO Bank after Garanti Bank. Mr. Uluğ joined Akfen Group in 2005 and served as the Finance Coordinator for the city hotel projects with Accor, a French hotel management group, as well as the privatization of Vehicle Inspection Stations, Mersin Port, and Iskenderun Port. Mr. Uluğ thereafter became the CFO of TAV Airports Holding, the group’s biggest affiliate, where he oversaw the privatization of ten domestic and international airports as well as the company’s 2007 initial public offering. Mr. Uluğ spent two years as a top executive in the real estate industry after his most recent position with the Group as Acting General Manager at İstanbul Deniz Otobüsleri. From 2016 to 2020, Mr. Uluğ continued his career overseas, spending four years in Bahrain as the Director of Investments for an infrastructure investment fund set up by the Islamic Development Bank and backed by the sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Brunei. Mr. Uluğ joined Türkiye Wealth Fund at the end of 2020 as the Deputy General Manager in charge of investments, and in addition to this role, Mr. Uluğ is now the Chairman of the Board of Türkiye Sigorta, Türkiye Hayat Emeklilik, and Türk Şeker Tarım companies, the Deputy Chairman of the Board of TWF Istanbul Financial Center, and a member of the Kayseri Sugar Factory Board, which are the portfolio companies that he is responsible for.

Mr. Taha ÇAKMAK, who completed his studies in Business Administration in English at Hacettepe University’s Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, worked as an Assistant Inspector at the Social Security Institution in 2005 and then held various positions at Ziraat Bank from 2005 to 2019, including Inspection Board Inspector, Operation Center Department’s Operations Design Manager, Branch Manager of Ankara Retail Branch, Human Resources Department Manager and Ankara Public Corporate Branch Manager. Following his role as Office Head at the Turkish Privatization Administration of the Ministry of Treasury and Finance in 2019, Mr. Taha ÇAKMAK served as Vice President at the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency from 2019 to 2021, and as Vice President at the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye from 2021 to 2023. Since August 3, 2023, Mr. Taha ÇAKMAK has held positions as the General Manager and Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors at Türkiye Sigorta and Türkiye Hayat Emeklilik. Mr. ÇAKMAK is also working as Chairman of Board of Directors of Tarım Sigortaları Havuz İşletmesi, Chairman of Board of Directors of OSEM, Vice Chairman of Board of Directors of Turk P&I Sigorta and member of Board of Directors of Pension Supervision Center.

After earning his degree in Business Administration from Boğaziçi University in 2007, Mr. Bilal Bedir began his career at Reckitt Benckiser. Up until 2014, Mr. Bedir was the Commercial Marketing Manager at Reckitt Benckiser, where he worked in a variety of divisions. He held the positions of Deputy Director at TRT World from 2015 to 2016, TRT World UK Country Manager in London from 2016 to 2017, and Head of Advertising Department at TRT from 2020 to 2021. Later on, Mr. Bedir worked at İhracatı Geliştirme (İGE) A.Ş. as the Deputy General Manager in charge of support units. From 2022 until 2024, Mr. Bilal Bedir was the Secretary General of the Türkiye Exporters Assembly (TİM). He has been the Türkiye Wealth Fund’s Deputy General Manager since June 2024. On June 6, 2024, Mr. Bilal Bedir, who is proficient in English and intermediate in German, was chosen as the Board Member of Türkiye Sigorta and Türkiye Hayat Emeklilik.

Mr. Mahmut Kaçar graduated from the Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Harran University, in 1999. Mr. Kaçar served as a Member of Parliament for Şanlıurfa during the 24th and 26th legislative terms between 2011 and 2018. He held various board memberships, including at Ziraat Bank between 2018 and 2023, at Ziraat Hayat Emeklilik A Ş and Ziraat Sigorta A Ş between 2018 and 2019, and at Ziraat Katılım Bankası A Ş between 2019 and 2020. Since 2023, he has been serving as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Turkish Environment Agency. Mr. Mahmut Kaçar is fluent in Arabic and has an intermediate level of proficiency in English. He was elected as a Member of the Board of Directors of Türkiye Sigorta and Türkiye Hayat Emeklilik on April 25, 2025.

Following her graduation from the Faculty of Law at Istanbul University, Ms. Ayşe Türkmenoğlu worked as an independent lawyer. She participated in the Women’s Rights Commission and Children’s Rights Commission of the Konya Bar Association. She was elected as the AK Parti’s 23rd Term Konya Deputy in the general elections held on July 22, 2007. In addition to serving as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Principle Consultant for seven years, Ayşe Türkmenoğlu is a member of the Presidential Legal Policies Council and a skilled mediator in the areas of banking and insurance law. She speaks German and English at an intermediate level. Having been elected as an Independent Board Member of Türkiye Sigorta and Türkiye Hayat Emeklilik on June 6, 2024, Ayşe Türkmenoğlu is married with one child.

Prior to receiving his PhD in 2001, Prof. Dr. Murat Akbalık earned his bachelor’s degree from Istanbul University’s Faculty of Political Sciences, Department of Public Administration, in 1991, and his master’s degree from Marmara University’s Faculty of Financial Sciences in 1993. He was named an Assistant Professor in 2005, an Associate Professor in 2011, and a Professor in 2017. He serves as the Head of Capital Markets Department of the Marmara University Faculty of Financial Sciences, the Board Member of the Marmara University Banking Institute, the Head of the Capital Markets and Stock Market Department of the Marmara University Faculty of Financial Sciences, and the Deputy Head of the Marmara University Faculty of Financial Sciences. Prof. Dr. Akbalık was appointed as a member to the Boards of Halk Sigorta, Ziraat Sigorta, Halk Emeklilik, Ziraat Emeklilik, and Vakıf Emeklilik as of June 1, 2020. An Independent Board Member of Türkiye Sigorta and Türkiye Hayat Emeklilik following the merger of insurance companies on August 31, 2020 and pension companies on September 1, 2020, Prof. Dr. Akbalık is proficient in English.

Mr. Yavuz Kaynarca completed his undergraduate studies at Ankara Gazi University, Faculty of Communication, Department of Journalism and Public Relations in 1988, and his master's degree at Istanbul University, Institute of Social Sciences, Department of Journalism in 1992. He is currently at the thesis stage of his doctoral studies in the same department. Mr. Kaynarca worked for 10 years in local and national press as well as radio stations. In 2001, with the establishment of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), he was appointed as the Chief of Staff and Press Advisor to the Istanbul Provincial Presidency. Between 2004 and 2009, he was elected as a Member of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Council and its Executive Committee. He is a member of the Istanbul Journalists Association, the Turkish Journalists' Association, and the Press Council. Mr. Yavuz Kaynarca was elected as an Independent Board Member of Türkiye Sigorta and Türkiye Hayat Emeklilik on April 25, 2025