Burak Ismail Okay leads the legal team of Zorlu Holding, one of Turkey’s largest corporate groups that employs over 26,000 employees across a portfolio of over 60 companies operating in a range of sectors, from textiles to electrical goods. He joined Zorlu in 2006 and played an active role in the structuring of the legal department which centrally serves all of the Zorlu Group, its subsidiaries and affiliates. Okay has worked closely with the business for a number of years and has been a board member at group entity Zorlu Enerji since 2007. His understanding of risk mitigation and commercial drivers across the group has fed into the legal team’s approach to handling negotiations and delivering strategic advice. Okay started his career as a lawyer in the department of legal advisory at İşbank. He later worked at Garanti Bankası as an assistant legal advisor, at MNG Bank as a legal advisor and at Nortel Networks Netaş as the legal affairs director before joining Bener Law Office as an executive.