Future of Financial Markets 2019

Prof. Dr. Daron Acemoğlu

Elizabeth and James Killian Chair Professor of Economics,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

A professor of Applied Economics at M.I.T., Daron Acemoglu is among the 20 most cited economists in the world, and was twice named one of Foreign Policy’s Top 100 Global Thinkers. He has received the prestigious John Bates Clark Medal for being a top economist under 40, the Nemmers Prize in Economics, the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award, and an Andrew Carnegie fellowship.

Born in Turkey and educated in England, Acemoglu has written for mainstream magazines, is a regular speaker for banks, think tanks, corporations, and other major institutions across the globe, and has received high-profile attention in many prestigious newspapers and journals. He also co-edits academic publications, such as The Journal of Economic Growth.

Acemoglu is the co-author, with Harvard’s James Robinson, of The New York Times bestseller Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty—a major work of historical, political, and cultural heft that comes along only once every few years. Throughout this ambitious, bracing work (shortlisted for the Financial Times Business Book of the Year Award), Acemoglu answers a question that has confounded leading minds for centuries: why are some nations rich, while others poor? Instead of looking to weather, cultural practices, or geography, we need to look to institutions, he argues—both strong and poor, political and economic—to understand prosperity and success.

Hakan Binbaşgil

CEO,
Akbank

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.
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.

Sir Winfried Bischoff

Chairman,
Financial Reporting Council in the UK& Chairman,
JP Morgan Securities plc.

Sir Win Bischoff, Birleşik Krallık Finansal Raporlama Konseyi Başkanı ve JP Morgan Securities plc. Yönetim Kurulu Başkanı’dır. Akbank TAŞ Uluslararası Danışma Kurulu’nda üye olarak görev almaktadır. 1983’ten bu yana beşi Birleşik Krallık, üçü ABD ve ikisi Avrupa’da olmak üzere 10 büyük halka açık şirketin yönetim kurullarına hizmet vermiştir.

2009-2014 yılları arasında Lloyds Banking Group plc’nin Yönetim Kurulu Başkanı olan Sir Win, uluslararası komite ve kurulların başkanlığında yüksek deneyime sahiptir. Bankacılık ve sermaye piyasaları, finans ve devlet düzenlemeleri ile kamu politikası da dahil olmak üzere birçok sektörde hizmet vermiştir. Schroders plc’de CEO ve ardından Yönetim Kurulu Başkanlığı (1984-2000), Citigroup Europe Yönetim Kurulu Başkanlığı (2000-2009) ve Citigroup Inc geçici CEO ve Yönetim Kurulu Başkanlığı görevlerini yürütmüştür (2007-2009).

Sir Win, bankacılık sektörüne verdiği hizmetlerden dolayı 2000 yılında Şövalyelik unvanına ve aynı yıl içerisinde Londra’da bulunan City University tarafından fahri bilim doktorasına layık görülmüştür. 2016 yılında, İcrada Görevli Olmayan Yönetim Kurulu Üyesi Yaşam Boyu Başarı Ödülü almıştır.

Sir Win Bischoff is Chairman of the Financial Reporting Council in the United Kingdom and Chairman of JP Morgan Securities plc. He is a member of the International Advisory Board of Akbank TAS, Turkey. Since 1983 he has served on the boards of 10 major public companies (5 in the UK, 3 in the US, 2 in Europe).

He was previously Chairman of Lloyds Banking Group plc (2009-2014). Sir Win has substantial experience of leading international committees and boards. His background spans a range of sectors, including banking and capital markets, finance and government regulation and public policy. He was CEO and then Chairman of Schroders plc (1984-2000), Chairman of Citigroup Europe (2000-2009) and interim CEO and then Chairman of Citigroup Inc (2007-2009).

Sir Win was awarded a Knighthood in the New Year Honours List in 2000 for services to the banking industry, and an Honorary Doctorate in Science by City University, London in the same year. In 2016 he was awarded a Non-Executive Director Lifetime Achievement Award.”

Levent Çelebioğlu

Executive Vice President,
Akbank

Levent Çelebioğlu joined Akbank in May, 2015 as Executive Vice President in charge of Corporate and Investment Banking. Prior to joining Akbank, he held various senior management positions at different private sector banks. Çelebioğlu is also the Chairman of Akbank AG and AkInvestment. Levent Çelebioğlu is a graduate of 9 Eylul University, Faculty of Economics, Monetary Economics & Banking Department.

Prof. Dr. Özgür Demirtaş

Chair Professor of Finance,
Sabancı University

Ozgur Demirtas was born in Ankara, Turkey. He got his BS degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Bogazici 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 2004, he was elected as the best instructor within the Finance Department of the college. In 2005, he was elected as the best instructor within all the departments of the business school. In 2007, he was awarded with one of the prestigious medals of the University: The Presidential Award for Teaching Excellence. He earned a tenured Associate Professor position in the same year. In 2010, he was ranked within the top 20 list among more than one million professors evaluated by 10 million students in USA, Canada, England, and Scotland. He also taught classes at the New York University (NYU) Stern School of Business and he earned the highest evaluations in the finance department.

His academic work has been published in various academic journals. He published more than 35 academic articles in leading journals such as Management Science, Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Monetary Economics, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Review of Finance, and Journal of Business & Economic Statistics. He also published a book about hedge funds by Academic Press. His research has been rewarded by the City University of New York for six consecutive years. In 2012, he joined Sabanci University as a Chair Professor of Finance and achieved to be Marie-Curie Research fellow.

Prof. Ozgur Demirtas is a Founding Chairman of the Center of Excellence in Finance (CEF) at Sabanci University. He is a Board Member of Akbank, one of the leading banks of Turkey. He was also a Founding Board member of Turkey’s first Financial Literacy and Savings Association (FODER). He has been a consultant for several business organizations. He frequently acts as a chief advisor to large corporations and conglomerates. He develops risk management software for the insurance industry. He is one of the leading keynote speakers to leading corporations and he joins think tank organizations with leading policymakers to emphasize the importance of economic and financial development. He is also an angel investor particularly interested in biotech sector.

Suzan Sabancı Dinçer

Chairman,
Akbank

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. 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. 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, Harvard Kennedy School Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government’s Advisory Council and an emeritus member of the Harvard Business School’s Middle East and North Africa Advisory Board. Suzan Sabancı Dinçer is also a member of the Global Board of Advisors at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and a member of the Board of Managing Directors of Venetian Heritage, Inc.
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. 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.
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. She is a founding member and board member of the leading high-impact entrepreneurship movement, Endeavor Turkey, and a member of the board of patrons of the Contemporary Istanbul Art Fair. Mrs. Sabancı Dinçer is also Luxembourg’s Honorary Consul in Istanbul. 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. Mrs. Sabancı Dinçer is married with two children.

Murat Gigin

Chairman,
Tekfen Holding

Born in İstanbul in 1952, Murat Gigin graduated from the University of Bradford in Civil Engineering in 1974. He obtained his Master’s Degree from the University of London in Mechanical Engineering in 1975, followed by a Ph.D. in Oceanic Engineering from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at University College London in 1976. Gigin began his carrier at Tekfen Construction in 1977 as a civil engineer at the Company’s construction sites in Kuwait. Upon his return to the Company’s headquarters in Istanbul in 1983, Gigin worked in the Business Development Department and as a coordinator on various international projects until he was appointed Deputy General Manager in 1986.

Gigin then served as General Manager of Tekfen Construction from 1988 to 1998 and as Board Member of several Tekfen Contracting Group Companies until 2000. A Board Member at Tekfen Holding between 1998 and 2015, Murat Gigin was appointed Chairman of the Board by Tekfen Holding’s Board of Directors on May 7, 2015. all of which are Tekfen Group Companies, Gigin is also the Chairman of the Board of Tekfen Tarımsal Araştırma, Üretim ve Pazarlama A.Ş.; Vice-Chairman of Tekfen Teknoloji Yatırım Ticaret A.Ş.; Board Member of Alanar Meyve ve Gıda Üretim Paz. San. Tic. A.Ş. and Alara Fidan Üretim ve Pazarlama San. ve Tic. A.Ş., , and Vice-Chairman of Akmerkez Gayrimenkul Yatırım Ortaklığı, a Tekfen subsidiary.

Since 1998, Murat Gigin has served as Chairman and Executive Director at the group companies of Viem Ticari ve Sanayi Yatırımları Ltd. Şti. (Tekzen Ticaret ve Yatırım A.Ş., Agromak Makine İmalat Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş., Viem İletişim Yayıncılık Reklam Turizm Hizmetleri Yatırım Ticaret A.Ş., Ekozey Ekolojik ve Organik Tarım Gıda Hayvancılık ve Turizm Taşımacılık İthalat İhracat İnşaat Sanayi Ticaret A.Ş., İmbroz Tarım Hayvancılık Gıda Sanayi Turizm ve Ticaret Ltd. Şti., Galipoli Gıda Ürünleri Sanayi ve Ticaret Ltd. Şti., ENAT Endüstriyel Ağaç Tarımı Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş.), in addition to his role as the Chairman of the Board of Viem Voila Reklam Ajansı A.Ş. At the same time, Gigin is the Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors at ANG Yatırım Holding A.Ş.

An activist in a number of NGOs in the past, Gigin was Chairman of IPLOCA (International Pipeline and Offshore Contractors' Association) between 1995 and 1996, is currently Member of the Board of Trustees of TEMA Foundation, and Board Member at KMD (Chain Stores Association), EDRA (European DIY - Retail Association) and GHIN (Global Home Improvement Network).

Atalay Muharrem Gümrah

CEO,
Eczacıbaşı Holding

Atalay Gümrah graduated from Galatasaray Lycée and Boğaziçi University’s Industrial Engineering Department. After receiving a master’s degree in Industrial Engineering from the same university, he completed the Harvard Business School Personal Leadership Program.

Gümrah initiated his career in 1992 at Ekom Eczacıbaşı Foreign Trade as Regional Manager. In 1994, he was appointed Commercial Manager of VitrA UK, and in 1997, General Manager of the Group’s newly established marketing and sales company in Russia, EBM Jsc. where he was given the responsibility of developing its business. In 1999, Gümrah joined Intema Building Materials Marketing and Sales, where he served respectively as Projects and Operation Manager, Sales Operation Manager, Assistant General Manager, and General Manager, a position he held between 2006 and 2011. In January 2011, he was appointed Vice President of the Eczacıbaşı Building Products Division (Bathrooms) and General Manager of Eczacıbaşı Building Products, and in October 2013, he was given the additional role of Executive Vice President of the Eczacıbaşı Building Products Division. Gümrah was appointed CEO of the Eczacıbaşı Group on February 1, 2017.

In addition to serving on the boards of several Eczacıbaşı Group companies, Gümrah was assigned the additional post of General Manager of Eczacıbaşı Holding on January 1, 2019. He is also the Chairman of the Clay, Ceramic, Cement and Glass Industry Employers Association of Turkey.

Zaur Gahramanov

CEO,
SOCAR Turkey

Zaur Gahramanov, born in 1982, graduated from Azerbaijan State Economics University in 2002. Mr. Gahramanov received his master degree from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business in 2016. Mr. Gahramanov began his career at KPMG as Tax Specialist in 1999. Then, Mr. Gahramanov continued his career at Ernst & Young as Senior Auditor between 2002 and 2004. Mr. Gahramanov worked at Statoil in Norway as Tax Advisor between 2004 and 2007, then he served at the same company as Performance and Financial Analyst between 2007 and 2008 years. Starting from 2008, Mr. Gahramanov continued his career as CFO at SOCAR Trading S.A. He was also the Member of the Board of Directors at Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) AG between 2013 and 2016.

Mr. Gahramanov started to work as Deputy General Manager at the Investments Department in SOCAR Azerbaijan since January 2013 and as CEO at SOCAR Turkey since April 2016. He is also Member of the Board of Directors at SOCAR Energy Switzerland, SOCAR Trading S.A., Neftchi Professional Football Club, and TANAP Natural Gas Transmission Company.

Prof. Dr. Dante Roscini

Professor of International Economy,
Harvard Business School

Dante Roscini teaches Managing International Trade and Investment in the Business, Government and the International Economy Unit at Harvard Business School. He joined the Harvard Business School faculty in 2008 and has published extensively on sovereign debt, monetary policy, central banking and international investment. He holds an M.B.A. from Harvard and a summa cum laude Laurea degree in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Rome, Italy. Before coming back to HBS Prof. Roscini spent twenty years in investment banking with senior positions at three of the top US bulge bracket firms in New York and London.

He was Head of European Capital Markets for Goldman Sachs, Head of Global Equity Capital Markets and Head of the European Capital Markets and Financing Group for Merrill Lynch where he was also a member of the Capital Commitments Committee and of the Managing Directors Promotions Committee. Finally, he was Country Head of Italy and Chairman of European Capital Markets for Morgan Stanley as well as a board member of Morgan Stanley International Bank. Prior to his career in investment banking Prof. Roscini worked as a researcher in nuclear archaeometry at the University of Rome, as a design engineer and project manager with Westinghouse Electric Corp. in the US and as a management consultant with the Boston Consulting Group in Paris. He is on the board of several public and private companies. He is a senior fellow of the Foreign Policy Association in New York and of the Atlantic Council in Washington.

Prof. Dr. Yusuf Leblebici

President,
Sabancı University

Yusuf Leblebici received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in electrical engineering from Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey, in 1984 and 1986, respectively. He received his Ph.D. degree in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), IL, USA, in 1990. Between 1991 and 1999, he worked as a faculty member at UIUC, at Istanbul Technical University, and at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) where he established and directed the VLSI Design Laboratory. From 1999 to 2002, he also served as the Microelectronics Program Coordinator at Sabanci University.

Since 2002, he is a Chair Professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) and Director of the Microelectronic Systems Laboratory. His research interests include design of high-speed CMOS digital and mixed-signal integrated circuits, computer-aided design of VLSI systems, intelligent sensor interfaces, modeling and simulation of semiconductor devices, and VLSI reliability analysis. He is the co-author of seven books (including two internationally acclaimed textbooks), as well as more than 250 articles published in various journals and conferences.

Yusuf Leblebici has been the recipient of the prestigious Young Scientist Award of the Turkish Scientific and Technological Research Council in 1995, and the “Joseph S. Satin Distinguished Fellow Award” in 1999. He was elected as an IEEE Fellow in 2009, and as a Distinguished Lecturer of the IEEE Circuits and Systems Society for 2010–2011.

Tom de Swaan

Chairman Supervisory Board,
ABN AMRO Bank N.V.

Tom de Swaan has served in the banking industry of the Netherlands for over 40 years. He joined De Nederlandsche Bank N.V. in 1972 and from 1986 until 1998 was a member of the governing board. In January 1999, he became a member of the managing board and chief financial officer of ABN AMRO Bank. He retired from ABN AMRO in May 2006, but continued as an adviser to the managing board until June 2007. Between 1987 and 1988, Mr. de Swaan was chairman of the Amsterdam Financial Center and from 1995 to 1997, chairman of the banking supervisory sub-committee of the European Monetary Institute. He was also a member of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision from 1991 to 1996, its chairman from 1997 to 1998, and a non-executive director on the board of the UK's Financial Services Authority from January 2001 until the end of 2006. From 2006 until May 2015 he was a non-executive member of the board of GlaxoSmithKline Plc. From 2008 until February 2016,

Mr. de Swaan was a member of the supervisory board of Van Lanschot NV, the holding company of F. van Lanschot Bankiers, an independent Dutch bank. He also served as its chairman until December 2015. He has been a member of the boards of Zurich Insurance Group Ltd and of Zurich Insurance Company Ltd since April 2006. In March 2012 he was elected vice-chairman, acting as chairman from August 2013 on. He was elected chairman of the Board in September 2013. In addition Mr. de Swaan has been Chief Executive Officer a.i. from December 2015 to early March 2016.