Mehmet Atıcı
Managing Partner, Bek Ventures (formerly Earlybird Digital East Fund)
Mehmet Atici is a Founding and Managing Partner at the Bek Ventures (ex- Earlybird Digital East Fund).
Bek Ventures is a global venture capital firm accompanying a select group of early-stage founders from their earliest days to global scale with relentless, hands-on support. Currently in its second decade, Bek has backed multi-billion-dollar successes such as UiPath and Payhawk and been recognized as the top-performing VC globally since 2010 by HEC / Dow Jones. Bek has offices in London, New York, Luxembourg and Istanbul.
Mehmet Atici joined Bek Ventures during its inception in 2013 as its first employee and rose to the Partner rank in 2020. Mehmet has served on the boards of 19 high-growth global tech companies and sits on Bek’s Investment Committee. Mehmet graduated from Bogazici University as the salutatorian of the Computer Science Class of 2013.
Tom Attenborough
Head of International Primary Markets, LSE
As the Head of International Business Development for Primary Markets at LSEG – London Stock Exchange Group, Tom Attenborough works with issuers and potential issuers seeking to list and raise capital on the London markets. Serving in this role since 2017, Tom joined LSEG in 2013 after a successful 15-year career in investment banking and equity capital markets at Citi and Dresdner Kleinwort Benson.
Tom's core competencies include developing and executing strategies to attract and retain international issuers, fostering relationships with key stakeholders, and promoting LSEG's products and services across various regions and sectors. With a Certificate of Investor Relations (CIR) and extensive knowledge of the capital markets landscape, particularly in emerging markets, Tom plays a pivotal role in driving the growth of LSEG's primary markets business. Passionate about supporting innovative companies, Tom contributes to the advancement of businesses that positively impact the global economy and society.
Yasemin Bedir
Eastern Europe Regional Director, Mastercard
Yasemin Bedir is the Turkiye and CIS Division President at Mastercard. In this role since January 2022, she has been overseeing the newly formed Turkiye & Commonwealth Independent States Division within the Mastercard EEMEA region, across six offices in 12 countries. Yasemin joined Mastercard in 2007. In 2011, she took on the role of the Head of Sales for South-East Europe and consequently in 2014 she became General Manager of Turkiye and Azerbaijan at Mastercard. In 2017 she was appointed as Executive Vice President for Mastercard’s North American Markets, and became the first female senior executive ever from Turkiye to work in Mastercard USA. In this role, she was responsible for Community Institutions and Processors for North American Markets until 2022. Before her career in Mastercard, she worked as a manager in retail banking services at HSBC, Garanti Bank, and Yapı Kredi in Turkiye. She also served in several roles from marketing to product development through the years. Yasemin is among the Founders of the Professional Women Network (PWN), and in that capacity is also co-sponsoring the Women Leadership Network globally within Mastercard, and leads many projects to help SMEs grow.
İrem Çağrı Yılandil
Head of International Expansion, Trendyol Group
Ahmet Burak Dağlıoğlu
President , Presidency of The Republic of Turkiye Investment Office
Burak Dağlıoğlu is President of the Investment Office of the Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye, a position he took up in February 2020. Prior to his appointment as President of the Investment Office, Mr. Dağlıoğlu held a number of posts within the Office; from 2010 to 2015, he worked as Project Director in charge of investment projects from the Gulf Countries, India, Japan, and USA. From 2015 to 2020, Mr. Dağlıoğlu served as the Vice President of the Investment Office in charge of overseas promotion and lead generation activities. In November 2020, he was appointed Member of the Board of Türkiye Wealth Funds.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Dağlıoğlu worked in the private sector in consulting industry at various positions. Mr. Dağlıoğlu holds a BA in Economics from Boğaziçi University and MA degree in “Global Master in Finance” from IE Business School.
İhsan Elgin
Executive Board Member, Finberg
İhsan Elgin transitioned from corporate life at Koç Group to entrepreneurship as the co-founder of Climateminder, an agricultural technology startup, and exited in the USA.
Leveraging his insights from the American entrepreneurial ecosystem, Elgin identified key areas where Turkiye's startup scene could be enhanced and started to take actions. He created Girişim Fabrikası, Turkiye's first startup acceleration program.
Afterwards he established & sold Core Strateji, a consultancy dedicated to guiding large corporations through their entrepreneurial transformation. With his team he played a pivotal role in shaping the entrepreneurship strategies for Turkiye's leading companies.
Moreover, Elgin united these corporations by creating the Girişimci Kurumlar Platformu (Entrepreneurial Corporations Platform), fostering a collaborative network that bridges the gap between over 30 large corporations and emerging startups.
Believing in the power and impact of education, Elgin has been teaching "Building a Business" at Özyeğin University for 10 years, where he also serves as the advisor to the rector on entrepreneurship.
Elgin, who played a pivotal role in its founding, serves as an executive board member of Finberg. He led the transformation of Finberg from a CVC to a fund management company, and under his leadership, a total of 60 investments were made, bringing the AUM to $110m. In addition to this role, he serves as a board member in more than ten finance and technology companies including İş Girişim PE.
By being a true ecosystem builder, his vision, knowledge and action create a thriving environment for entrepreneurs. Elgin’s articles on fintech, innovation, and startups can be found in Fast Company Turkiye and Capital Magazine. Additionally, he is an active angel investor with over 35 personal investments. Recently he graduated from the Harvard Business School Owner/President Management program.
Arda Ermut
CEO, Turkish Wealth Fund (TWF)
Osman Koray Ertaş
Turkish Ambassador to the United Kingdom
Ambassador O. Koray Ertaş serves as Turkish Ambassador to the UK since 14 March 2023. He previously served as the Turkish Ambassador to Romania (2014-2019), Special Advisor to the Foreign Minister (2019-2023), and Chief of Staff to the President (2011-2014). Prior to that he worked at the Turkish Embassy in Washington, D.C. (2008-2011), Turkish Permanent Mission to the UN Office in Geneva (2003-2005), Turkish Embassy in Sofia (2000-2003), and the Policy Planning Department at the Turkish Foreign Ministry (1997-2000). Mr. Ertaş also worked at the U.S. State Department as a Transatlantic Fellow (2008-2009).
O. Koray Ertaş has a PhD degree from George Mason University’s School of Conflict Analysis and Resolution. He has an M.A. in Contemporary European Studies from University of Sussex and a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Ankara University.
Anne Fossemalle
Director, Funds Investment, EBRD
Experienced Private Equity investment professional with broad international experience. Past Chair and current member of the Board of Invest Europe, former member of the Board of ILPA. Selected one of ten Women of Influence in Private Equity by Private Equity International in July 2022. Excellent network, strong leadership skills. Strong educational background in France and in the USA: Engineering degree from INA and ENGREF - France; Master in Economics from Stanford University. Bilingual (English/French).
Müge Gök Çakırtaş
Global Marketin Director, Arcelik
Neil Harper
Chariman, Turkven
Neil is the Chairman of Turk Ventures Advisory Limited (Turkven) and sits on several other Investment Committees. He has 30 years of professional experience. Previously he was Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer of Morgan Stanley AIP Private Markets, a $12b global private markets fund, co-investment, and secondaries business. Prior to this, he was a Partner at McKinsey & Company operating globally, providing consulting services to corporate and private equity clients on strategy, performance improvement, mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance. He began his career at Arthur Andersen. Mr. Harper received an M.A. (First Class Honours) from the University of Edinburgh and an M.B.A. (Honors) from the University of Chicago.
Bakhrom Ibragimov
Partner CEE Region, Molten
Bakhrom joined Molten in 2022 from EBRD where he headed up the Venture Capital Investment Programme and managed commitments of €500m over three VC funds, investing in companies such as Docplanner, PandaDoc, PicsArt, Trendyol, among others. Previously Bakhrom was leading investments with Virgin Green Fund as a Founding Principal and TLcom Capital as Investment Director. Bakhrom was also Internet Finance Director in Virgin Media and tech investment banker with Cowen & Co and Credit Suisse.
Bakhrom graduated on academic scholarships from Tashkent Technical University, Cambridge University and London School of Economics.
Afzal Khan
MP Trade Envoy to Turkiye
Eren Kurşun
Managing Partner, Esin Attorney Partnership
Eren Kurşun heads the M&A and Private Equity practices of Esin Attorney Partnership (a member firm of Baker McKenzie International, a Swiss Verein). He graduated from İstanbul Bilgi University, Faculty of Law in 2004. Eren holds MBA degree from Bogazici University. He began his career in 2005 at a global law firm, specializing in M&A, private equity and capital markets and continues his career at Esin Attorney Partnership as 'Managing Partner' as of July 1, 2023.
Eren is one of the most sought-after M&A lawyers in Türkiye, ranked as "Leading Individual" in Legal 500 and "Band 1" in Chambers guides. He also sits on the İstanbul office's Executive Committee and acts as a board member of the Boğaziçi University Alumni Association (BÜMED) since 2019. Eren is also a guest lecturer at the Boğaziçi University Business School and İstanbul Bilgi University.
He has worked on some of the landmark M&A transactions in Türkiye including; Peak Games, Garanti Bank, Doğan Media, Trendyol, U.N. Ro-Ro, Acıbadem Hospitals and OYAK Cement transactions. He is married and has three kids.
Chris Laing
Managing Director, HSBC Equity Capital Markets - CEE-MENA Region
Yaser Moustafa
CEO/Managing Director, NBK
Yaser Moustafa is the CEO of NBK Capital Partners in Dubai. He is responsible for the management and operations of NBK Capital Partners, including the private equity, real estate and mezzanine investment vehicles.
He has over 20 years of professional experience including transaction advisory, interim management, board roles and organizational change in both the U.S and Middle East. Previously, Moustafa led Alvarez & Marsal’s Private Equity advisory practice for the Middle East as Managing Director. He began his career at Lehman Brothers in Investment Banking in the U.S.
Barış Öney
Founder and Managing Partner, Globalturk Capital.
CEE Leadership Council Member and Türkiye Representative, GPCA
Barış Öney has over 30 years of worldwide and diverse experience in the areas of pre and post investment management, private equity, mergers & acquisitions and IPOs. He managed more than 300 cross-border M&A, private equity, IPO, project finance, privatization, due diligence and valuation projects on the sell and buy side for clients, both large conglomerates and small to mid-market companies. The volume of transactions he managed/advised to date has reached over $5 billion.
As the Founder and Managing Partner of Globalturk Capital for more than 12 years – offices in London and İstanbul, he has been acting as a hands-on mergers & acquisitions advisor on the sell and buy side for corporates and private equity and venture capital funds. He has been active primarily in Türkiye and Environs, in the UK, Europe, US, and in emerging markets including China.
Prior to establishing Globalturk Capital - for more than 15 years - his assignments covered setting up and/or managing investment banking/corporate finance advisory practices in three of the most renowned financial institutions in Türkiye: Deloitte (Partner), Yapi Kredi Yatirim (acting AGM) and TSKB (Director). He also managed the strategic/international business development – M&A Department of the Turkcell Group (Group Head). He ran landmark IPOs out of Türkiye as the project manager i.e., Turkcell, Sabancı Holding, Sasa, Vestel, Baticim, Celebi, Tekfen Holding as well as Tupras Refineries and Turkish Airlines privatization projects and the like in these institutions, where they were either the lead managers/advisors or global coordinators. He also acted as a project manager, project engineer and advisor in numerous projects in the oil and gas and chemicals sector for more than 10 years i.e., P&G, Fluor Daniel, Turkish Petroleum and Genel Energy.
Barış Öney holds a MSc. Degree from the U. of Texas at Austin as a Fulbright scholar; a BSc. Degree from the Middle East Technical University; and a Corporate Finance Diploma from The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales – ICAEW.
Barış Öney actively served as a board or an executive committee member in leading business organizations for many years such as DEİK/TAIK, TUSİAD, TUBİSAD, Endeavor and KİD and he continues to be in their advisory, working or ad hoc gathering groups. He serves from time to time, as the nominee director for EBRD in their portfolio companies as well as at the Executive/Advisory Boards and Investment Committees of numerous companies and private equity funds in Türkiye and abroad. He is also GPCA’s CEE Leadership Council Member and Türkiye Rep. He is also the founding and advisory board member of the Woman in Technology Association.
Çağatay Özdoğru
Board Member & Group CEO, Esas Holding
Çağatay Özdoğru is the CEO of Esas Holding in charge of all business lines, including real estate, private equity, venture capital, social investment and wealth management, and is on the investment committees of all of them.
Previously, Çağatay was the president of IT & Telecommunications Group at Sabancı Holding. Prior to that, he held various positions at France Telecom Group, where he last served as the executive vice president of the MEA region at Orange Business Services. He was also a member of the Global Operating Committee.
In 2020, Çağatay was appointed as the chairman of Türkiye - France Business Council at DEIK (Foreign Economic Relations Council) and Independent Board Member of Fenerbahçe Football A.S in 2021. Previously, he served as the chairman of Türkiye - Sweden Business Council and Türkiye - Croatia Business Council, and board member of TBV (Türkiye IT Foundation) and TUBISAD (Türkiye IT Industry Association). He was also the president of Sigortamnet İTÜ Basket of Turkish Basketball League between 2018-2019.
Çağatay Özdoğru earned his M.S. degree in Telecommunications Engineering from George Washington University, where he received the Hall of Fame Award for Alumni in 2016, and B.S. degree in Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering from Istanbul Technical University.
Bernard-Louis Roques
Co-founder and General Partner, Truffle Capital
Launched Truffle Capital’s FinTech Incubator in 2015, Early Stage fund in 2018, and Scaleups fund in 2023. Truffle Capital has 1bn€ AUM, 100 investments & 14 IPOs, with 22 investments and 6 exits in fintechs and insurtech. Board Member of Finance Innovation (French governmental agency dedicated to Fintech), ACSEL (French digital economy agency).
Repeat entrepreneur, co-founded Truffle Capital after selling his robotics company. Started as bond trader @ HSBC. Author of the « Truffle 100 » (research on software) & the «Fintech 100 » (research on Fintech). MBA from ESSEC Business School and ACE from MIT
Barış Sivri
Partner, CEECAT Capital
Barış Sivri joined CEECAT Capital in 2007 and leads the team in İstanbul.
Prior to this, Sivri worked at various departments in World Bank and IFC in Washington DC. He started his career in 1995 as an equity research analyst at Global Securities, İstanbul, and later worked in corporate finance, where he concluded a number of IPOs, M&A transactions, and Privatization projects in Turkiye and Emerging Europe.
Barış Sivri has an MBA from the George Washington University and a BA from the Koc University, İstanbul.
He is fluent in English and Turkish.
Alex von Sponeck
Private Credit Portfolio Manager, Kirkoswald
Alex von Sponeck is a Private Credit Portfolio Manager at Kirkoswald. Prior to Kirkoswald, Alex worked with Argentem Creek, an EM focused illiquid and distressed credit fund that spun out of Cargill’s asset management business, Black River. There he focused on private credit and co-founded & managed Frontier Credit Partners, an EM focused private credit and special situations business, with Simon Watt, which included a joint venture with Golding Capital Partners (2018-2020). Alex started his career in 1996 as a capital markets lawyer at White & Case LLP in New York and Istanbul, before spending the next 15 years in EM credit origination, structuring, and principal finance at WestLB, Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs. Alex has a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree from the University of London (SOAS), and a Masters of Laws (LLM) degree from Harvard Law School. Alex speaks fluent German and Turkish, and grew up in Ghana, Botswana, Pakistan, India, and Turkey.
Onur Topaç
CEO & Chairperson of the Board, Gedik Yatırım
Born in 1990 in Istanbul, Onur Topaç graduated from the Austrian High School, received his bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering from Koç University in 2013 and his master's degree in Financial Engineering from Özyeğin University. In 2008, Onur Topaç started his finance career at Gedik Investment and took part in the establishment phase of the Banking Department in 2013. A pioneer of technological transformation, Mr. Topaç served as General Manager and Chairman of the Board of Directors at HUB Venture Capital Investment Trust AŞ between 2015 and 2020, and as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors at Marbaş Menkul Değerler AŞ between 2015 and 2019. Mr. Topaç is also the Vice Chairman and CEO of Gedik Yatırım Menkul Değerler AŞ, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Misyon Yatırım Bankası AŞ, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of hiVC Venture Capital Investment Trust AŞ, He continues to serve as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Inveo Ventures Venture Capital Investment Trust, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ichain Yatırım Holding AŞ, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Inveo Araç Kiralama Hizmetleri AŞ, Chairman of the Board of Directors of GYT Bilişim ve Ticaret AŞ, and Board Member on behalf of the legal person of BV Teknoloji İş Geliştirme Danışmanlık ve Organizasyon Hizmetleri AŞ.
İlke Toptaş
Regional Director for Gaming | UK, Northern Europe, Middle East and Africa, Meta
İlke Çarkcı Toptaş is the Country Director for Meta Türkiye and the Regional Gaming Director for NEMEA (Northern, Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa). Based in London, she oversees business operations for Türkiye and the NEMEA gaming region.
Before joining Meta, she served as the Vice President of Business Development for leading digital media platforms in Türkiye.
Mete Uluyurt
Vice Chairman of TBCCI & Managing Director of Isbank London
Nicholas Vickery
Global Head of Private Equity Funds , IFC
Since June 2020, Nicholas Vickery is IFC’s Global Head of Private Equity Funds, based in Washington DC. Vickery focuses on IFC’s investments in Private Equity Funds with an annual investment program of around USD500m in 20-25 funds. and chairs the Funds Investment Committee (IC), which screens all of IFC’s investment proposals in private equity funds. He was previously the Global Portfolio Manager of Private Equity Funds, with a portfolio responsibility for IFC’s investments in 270 funds for a total exposure of around USD4 billion, across all regions. His portfolio included growth equity, venture capital, climate change and SME funds. Prior to this, Vickery was an investment officer in IFC’s Financial Institutions Group, and was based in İstanbul, Turkiye from 2010-2015. He also headed the IFC Mumbai office from 2003-2005, where he was responsible for business development for the financial sector in South Asia. He joined IFC in 1998 as part of the MBA Program. Nicholas Vickery holds a Masters from ESSEC Business School, France and a MBA from INSEAD.
Charlie Walker
Deputy CEO, London Stock Exchange (LSE)
Dirk Werner
Managing Director, Equity, EBRD
Dirk Werner is the Managing Director for the Equity Business Group of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. He took up his role in September 2023.
In this role, Mr. Werner oversees the Bank’s activities in the Direct Equity, Equity Funds, Venture Capital, and Equity Portfolio Monitoring groups.
Mr. Werner, a German national, joined the Bank in January 2015 as the Director for the Telecommunications, Media and Technology (TMT) sector (then known as ICT).
Prior to joining the EBRD, Mr. Werner held Managing Director roles in investment banking, including at Sberbank Corporate and Investment Banking in Moscow from 2012 to 2014 and at Bank of America Merrill Lynch based in London from 2007 to 2011. Earlier positions included investment banking roles at Lehman Brothers in New York and London, at Morgan Stanley in London, and Dresdner Bank in Frankfurt.
Mr. Werner graduated as Diplom-Volkswirt (M.A. Economics) from the Georg-August University of Göttingen and studied at Amherst College, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
Selahattin Zoralioğlu
Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Alkima Partners
Prior to forming Taxim Capital and Alkima Partners, Mr. Zoralioğlu was a partner at Pamplona Capital Management, a private equity fund based in London, where he worked for 9 years. During his tenure with Pamplona Capital Mr. Zoralioğlu successfully invested in Europe and also led the fund’s investment efforts in Turkiye. Prior to his experience with Pamplona Capital, Mr. Zoralioğlu worked at the investment banking division of Merrill Lynch in London, focusing on mergers and acquisitions, and at McKinsey & Company, focusing on strategy development and operational improvement for companies in Turkiye and the Gulf region. Mr. Zoralioğlu received his BS in Industrial Engineering from Bosphorus University in İstanbul and his MBA from Kellogg School of Management.