Powerlist Members
Ali Uysal
Head legal counsel | Turkish Airlines
Heading all legal operations of Turkish Airlines and managing more than 30 employees, Ali Uysal has led some significant changes in the legal department during his two years in the chief legal counsel position. He introduced a law office management system that facilitated the organisation of litigation; he initiated a specialisation process that divided lawyers …
Ana Lluch
Head of legal | Ursa Insulation SA
Ursa’s head of legal, Ana Lluch is responsible for 20 jurisdictions in which the company operates, including Turkey. When she first assumed her position in 2005 there was no legal culture in Ursa and the legal team was not involved in the representation of the company. ‘We faced many problems. Setting up the new legal …
Asli Irmak Acar Kurşun
Legal counsel | LG Electronics
Aslı Irmak Acar Kurşun has experienced rapid progression over the course of her career. Only four years after the start of her professional career she became the first in-house counsel in LG Electronics Turkey. Previously she was an associate in Mehmet Gun & Partners, one of the largest law firms in Turkey. With multiple roles …
Asli Sahinkaya
Head of legal | Tani
Tani, a technology company, operates within the Koç Group, Turkey’s largest industrial and services group. Aslı Şahinkaya was the first in-house counsel to join Tani, and ‘the major change for the company was having a lawyer who works with them every day in almost every project and understands the business needs. As a technology and …
Ayse Tümerkan
Legal affairs director | Abdi Ibrahim
Legal affairs director Ayşe Tümerkan joined Abdi İbrahim, the first Turkish company on the list of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, in 2008 to assist with legal work produced in the business development department. At that time there was no in-house legal department, so Tümerkan gradually built the integral structures of a functioning team and …
Bahar Yenerer
Head of legal and compliance | Atos
Bahar Yenerer joined Atos Turkey as head of legal and compliance in 2012, after a successful career in major Turkish law firms. When she first started at Atos Turkey, the company did not have an in-house department, so significant effort was dedicated to creating the right mind-set within the business. ‘The first challenge I was …
Bengü Halavut Yıldırım
Head legal counsel and corporate compliance officer | Bayer
Having served for nearly seven years as the head legal counsel and corporate compliance officer for Bayer, a global enterprise with core competencies in the field of healthcare, agriculture and high-tech polymer materials, Bengü Halavut Yıldırım has achieved many changes in the workings of the legal department. She established the legal and compliance department of …
Berna Avdan
Head of legal | Garanti Bank
Highly experienced in the banking sector, Berna Avdan has worked for some of the country’s biggest banks. She started her career in the banking sector with Osmanli Bank, where she served as an attorney at law for four years; in 2001 she moved to HSBC as a legal counsel and a further four years later …
Burcu Sener Sözer
Head of legal | Aygaz
Burcu Şener Sözer is the head of legal at Aygaz, Turkey’s seventh largest industrial organisation. She joined Aygaz in 2011, after 13 years in private practice at several top Turkish law firms. When she first started at Aygaz, the legal department mainly dealt with litigation issues. With the support of the management, she adopted a …
Buse Pınar Kaçar
Chief legal and corporate affairs officer | Yörsan
With an illustrious career spanning in-house and private practice, Buse Pınar Kaçar has held senior roles in major multinational companies, including Carrefour and GSK. She joined Yörsan as chief legal and corporate affairs officer in 2014, shortly after the company’s acquisition by the private equity fund Abraaj Capital. Her responsibilities stretch beyond the legal department, …
Caghan Tansel
Head of legal & country compliance officer | RB (formerly Reckitt Benckiser)
Çağhan Tansel has led some of the most significant changes in the legal function at RB Turkey. When he assumed his position in 2012 the local branch did not have a legal department and the most difficult challenge he faced was overcoming the perception of the in-house department as a luxury. Building the right communication …
Cagla Zıngıl
Group legal director | Akkok Sanayi Yatirim ve Gelistirme AS
Çağla Zıngıl, group legal director, joined Akkok Sanayi Yatirim ve Gelistirme, a company with operations in chemical, energy, and real estate sectors in Turkey, eight years ago as the only in-house counsel. Previously she had worked as a consultant lawyer for nine years at Garanti Bank, Turkey’s second largest private bank, and two years as …
Cem Çeliker
Chief legal counsel / vice president | ENKA Insaat ve Sanayi A.S
‘With a workforce of over 20,000 people and with more than 50 subsidiaries operating globally mainly in construction, energy and real estate sectors, my role requires me to oversee and manage the handling of many complex and international matters on various topics, from different arms of the business. This is the most challenging, and at …
Cesur Kılınç
General counsel | Anadolu Group
Cesur Kılınç has been the general counsel of Anadolu Group since 2000. Kılınç joined the company, one of Turkey’s leading conglomerates, as legal director in 1994. Prior to that, he worked as consultant in law for ENKA, and Çoflar Müflavirlik A.fi. During his time at Anadolu he has brought significant changes. He revolutionised the legal …
Ceyda Akbal
General counsel | TAV Airport Holding
Ceyda Akbal joined TAV Airport Holding, the leading airport operator in Turkey, in 2009 as legal counsel and, after only three years, was promoted to the role of general counsel. She currently leads a team of four legal counsel and one intern. During her time in this role she has centralised legal consultancy works within …