Women Entrepreneurs Forum

Pınar Işın

Pınar IŞIN has been working as the EU Coordination Director within KOSGEB (Small and Medium Enterprises Development Organisation). She started her career in KOSGEB as an SME Expert providing training & consultancy services for SMEs and entrepreneurs in 1998. She became the Foreign Relations Director in 2010 dealing with the bilateral and multilateral international relations where she developed and managed the UNDP, GIZ, AFD and EU funded projects on competitiveness, economic development and energy efficiency. As the EU Coordination Director, she is responsible of national coordination of COSME Program, Small Business Act, EU SME Week and bilateral relations with EU Countries.

Melahat Güray

Melahat Güray has an MSc degree in European Economic and Public Affairs, from the University College Dublin, following her bachelor degree on Political Science and Public Administration in the Middle East Technical University.

She has worked in different institutions specializing in labour market and social policy for more than 16 years. Apart from her experience in the field of programming, funding and project management, she has expertise in the field of labour market, particularly inclusion of women and young people. She is responsible for programming and management of EU funded projects including women employment and entrepreneurship projects as well as harmonization of legislation with EU Acquis. She is a member of gender work group in the EU Delegation.

İsmail Haznedar

Ismail Haznedar is a Strategist, TEDx Speaker, Accredited SME Consultant, Certified Management Consultant (CMC) and Fellow Member of Strategic Planning Society (SPS).

Presently he is Managing Director of Stratejik Isler, a management consultancy company and Founder of Gain Global, a network of action oriented supporters, investors and partners, committed to empowering starters in their journey to initiating new enterprises. Ismail Haznedar is Former President of Junior Chamber International (JCI), leading global network of active citizens. Haznedar was elected as 2015 President of the JCI, leading global organization during 100th Anniversary and served as 2016 JCI Senate Chairman. He is honoured to be a life time member and Senator, Foundation Member, and Certified National Trainer (CNT).

Marion de Groot

Marion de Groot is the Executive Vice President for Europe for JCI. JCI (Junior Chamber International) is a global organization that provides development opportunities for people aged between 18 and 40 that empowers them to create positive change. In this voluntary position she is part of the global board and chair of the group European National Organizations that altogether have around 23.000 members. In her professional life she has her own company as an information analyst, and is currently working for the Dutch National Police. She holds two Master’s degrees, one in Industrial Design Engineering and one in Software Engineering. She is 39 years old and lives with her partner in the Netherlands.

Güven Sak

Güven Sak worked as a senior researcher at the Capital Markets Board of Turkey, as a faculty member of the Department of Public Finance at the Faculty of Political Sciences, Ankara University, and as an external founding member of the Monetary Policy Council of the Central Bank of Turkey. He was the founding managing director of Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey (TEPAV) in 2004, which is the first and only economic policy think tank in Turkey. Area Studies Program of TEPAV has been active in private sector development projects, entrepreneurship and SME support programs in the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia. He is currently the MD of TEPAV in Ankara, Turkey and President/CEO of TEPAV Global, Washington, DC, USA.

Tekin Çotuk

Tekin Çotuk holds degrees in Economics; a B.Sc. from Middle East University in Ankara and a M.Sc. from University of York in England.

In 1994, Mr Cotuk started his professional career at Turkish Treasury as an associate in the Directorate of Foreign Economic Relations. From 2004 to 2007, he served as Head of International Capital Markets Department in charge of budget finance via bond issuances.

Mr Cotuk joined Deutsche Bank Istanbul in 2007 as Senior Advisor for origination, structuring, negotiating and executing of public and private transactions in Turkey, including international bonds, syndicated debt and equity offerings.

Mr Cotuk joined the European Investment Bank in 2009 as senior loan officer for lending operations in Turkey. Currently, he is working as Principal Advisor in Central and South Eastern Europe Department.

Zühal Gözüküçük

Zühal Gözüküçük was born in Adapazarı and graduated from Ankara University Faculty of Agriculture in 1974 as an Agricultural Engineer. She worked as an English teacher for one year and then as a quality control engineer in the private sector for 4 years, and then as an engineer at the Ministry of Agriculture.

She retired in 1997 and in the same year after losing her husband she took over his lathe workshop. She took the university entrance exam again in 1999 and studied at Erciyes University Mechanical Higher Vocational School. Zühal Gözüküçük, who has 2 sons, continued to work together with them as company partners after their graduation. She kept with times by renewing the workplace and workbenches producing various machine parts and thanks to the importance it attaches to quality, the company opened up to European markets. She is the chairman of the board of the company with 80% exports. At the same time she is also a member of Kayso Council, Vice Chairman of the Executive Board of Kayseri Women Entrepreneurs Board and a member of the organic agriculture association.

Filiz Akkaş

Filiz AKKAS was born in 1975 in Sivas. She completed her primary and secondary school education in Istanbul, and graduated from Okan University Business Management Department.

She is the General Manager at Mapsis Aviation and Defense Industry Inc. which she established in 2011. During the 2013 KOSGEB SME Entrepreneurship Awards, she was selected finalist for Best Female Entrepreneur in Kocaeli and Successful Woman Entrepreneur in Turkey of the Year. At a ceremony held in Luxembourg in 2015, on behalf of the Economy Ministers of all Benelux states, Filiz received the Exporter of the Year award by Luxembourg’s Finance Minister Pierre Gramegna. Filiz serves as Kocaeli Chamber of Industry Council Member, TOBB General Assembly Delegate and TOBB EU Compliance Commissioner and Reporter. At the same time, she is a TOBB Women Entrepreneurs Supreme Council officer and a mother to a daughter.

Cristina Tumiatti

Cristina Tumiatti, commercial and marketing director of Sea Marconi Technologies, is the chairman of the Women entrepreneurship committee of the Chamber of commerce of Turin since July 2016.

Born in Turin in 1974, she achieved the scientific A-level in 1993, after spending one year at the Lincoln High School of Sioux Falls, SD (USA). She graduated in Company Economy in 2001 at the LIUC of Castellanza. To enrich her competences, she obtained in 2005 a Master in Business Administration PT with the SAA. Enrolled in 2003 with the Group of Young Entrepreneurs of the Industrial Union of Turin and she became councillor in 2007. In 2013 has been elected “President of the group of Young Entrepreneurs” and has covered this charge until 2016.

In 2009 she became the mother of Matteo, meeting with determination her different roles as a woman, mother and entrepreneur. Deeply involved on the line of the associative activity, her motto is: “Italy must restart at once and it must restart from the enterprises: let’s be entrepreneurs”.

Ben Butters

Ben Butters has been with EUROCHAMBRES, the European association of Chambers of Commerce & Industry, since 2008 and was appointed CEO in 2020. Prior to this, he acquired experience in both the European Commission and the European Parliament, as well as working for a network of innovation centres. Directly before joining EUROCHAMBRES, he created and for several years ran his own business providing EU advocacy support to small business associations.

Ambassador Mehmet Kemal Bozay

Ambassador Bozay was born in 1966 in Ankara (Turkey). He has a degree in International Relations. By 1989 he started the junior career diplomat, at the Directorate General (DG) for Gulf States. After few years in different Turkish Embassies (Tehran, Ljubljana, Sarajevo, etc) and Ministries, he arrived in Brussels in January 2019, as Ambassador at the Permanent Delegate to Turkey to the European Union.