Board of Trustees

Hayri Çulhacı serves as Chair of the Board of Sabancı Holding since March 2025, becoming the first non-family career executive to assume this role. He also serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees of Sabancı University and as Vice Chair and Member of the Board of Trustees of the Sabancı Foundation.

Mr. Çulhacı brings more than four decades of leadership experience across finance, governance, and corporate transformation. Before joining the Board of Sabancı Holding, he spent over 30 years at Akbank, one of Türkiye’s leading financial institutions. He joined Akbank in 1990 as Executive Vice President and went on to hold key strategic responsibilities throughout his tenure. He was appointed to the Board of Directors in 2009, became Vice Chairman in 2010. He also chaired the Audit Committee, Corporate Governance Committee, and High-Level Risk Committee until his retirement in 2020.

In addition to his executive positions, Mr. Çulhacı has served on the Boards of Aksigorta A.Ş. and Avivasa Emeklilik ve Hayat A.Ş., and held the Chairmanship of Ak Yatırım Menkul Değerler A.Ş. and Ak Portföy Yönetimi A.Ş.

He began his career at the Turkish Ministry of Finance in 1979, serving for more than a decade in various leadership roles.

Mr. Çulhacı earned his undergraduate degree from the Faculty of Political Sciences at Ankara University (1978) and an MBA from Northeastern University in the United States (1986).
 

Prof. Dr. S. Tamer Cavusgil is Regents Professor and Fuller E. Callaway Professorial Chair at Georgia State University, Atlanta, U.S.A. He also directs the national resource center, Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER). 

Tamer specializes in the internationalization of the firm, global strategy, emerging markets, and buyer-seller relationships in cross-border business. Earlier in his career, Tamer contributed to such streams of research as exporting, international marketing research, multinational enterprises, and born global firms.

Tamer’s professional career spans teaching, research, and administrative leadership roles in international business at Michigan State University (inaugural holder of John W. Byington Endowed Chair in Global Marketing; 1987-2008), Bradley University (1983-87), University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (1978-83), and the Middle East Technical University (ODTU), Turkey (1976-78). In addition, he served as Senior Fulbright Scholar to Australia and taught at Monash University. Tamer also served as a visiting professor at Manchester Business School, Leeds University Business School, and held the Gianni & Joan Montezemolo Visiting Chair at the University of Cambridge, the United Kingdom. 

Tamer authored more than several dozen books and some 200 refereed journal articles. His work is among the most cited contributions in international business. Various reviews have listed him as one of the most influential and prolific authors in international management. Google Scholar lists him 1st in the world in export marketing, and Born Global Firms. He ranks in the top five in the world in the fields of international marketing and international business. 

Tamer is the senior author of the leading textbook, International Business: The New Realities, with G. Knight and J. Riesenberger (6th ed., 2025, Pearson) and International Marketing in a Changing World: A Managerial Guidebook (2025, Business Expert Press).

He is the founding editor of the Journal of International Marketing now published by the American Marketing Association, and Advances in International Marketing published by Emerald Group Publishing. Most recently, Tamer has helped launch a new business journal, Rutgers Business Review, to feature managerially relevant research for business executives.

Tamer has so far mentored over 40 doctoral students, who have gone on to become successful academics at major business schools around the world. 

Tamer was awarded an honorary doctorate, Doctor Honoris Causa, by The University of Hasselt, Belgium (2014); an honorary doctorate from the University of Southern Denmark  (2017); and Honorary Doctorate from Hong Kong Metropolitan University (2025). In April 2018, Tamer was honored as an Honorary Professor by Atilim University in Ankara, Turkey. 

Tamer is an elected Fellow and Dean of the Academy of International Business, AIB Fellow. The Fellowship is a distinction earned by a select group of intellectual leaders in international business. He also served as vice president of the AIB, and on the board of directors of the American Marketing Association.

Tamer earned MBA and Ph.D. degrees in business at the University of Wisconsin-  Madison, and B.S. from Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey
 

Suzan Sabancı is the Chairman of Akbank. Ms. Sabancı is also a board member of Sabancı Holding and a member of the Board of Trustees of Sabancı University and the Sabancı Foundation. In 2009, Ms Sabanci founded the Akbank International Advisory Board and currently serves as its chairman.     
Suzan Sabancı began her career in banking in 1986 and joined Akbank as Executive Vice President in charge of Treasury in 1989. Having specialized in Treasury and Risk Management, she has been active in these two subjects since 1993. In 1997, she was named Executive Board Member for Treasury and International Banking Relations. Ms Sabancı was appointed as Executive Board Member to oversee the bank-wide change and transition program in 2001. She was named Chairman in March, 2008.
Ms. Sabancı 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, and an emeritus member of the Harvard Business School’s Middle East and North Africa Advisory Board. Suzan Sabancı is also co-chair of the New York-based American-Turkish Society, as well as a member of the Global Board of Advisors at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), the Board of Managing Directors of Venetian Heritage, Inc, and the Cultural and Social Affairs Committee of the Serpentine Council respectively.
From 2010 to 2014, Suzan Sabancı served as the chairman of the Turkish-British Business Council for two terms. From 2009 to 2016, Ms. Sabancı sat on the Global Board of Advisors of Chatham House and she is currently a member of the Chatham House Chairman’s Circle. In 2012, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II awarded Ms. Sabancı 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. Having previously served as an Advisory Board Member for The Prince's Charities, Ms. Sabancı is currently a Patron of Prince’s Trust International, a highly prestigious charity organisation set up by King Charles III, then The Prince of Wales, in 1976 and aimed at promoting the development of young people.
Suzan Sabancı is strongly committed to corporate social responsibility activities and assumes various positions in the fields of culture, education, and the promotion of entrepreneurship. Between 2014 and 2018, Sabancı acted as the Advisory Board President of the Women on Board Association Turkey, dedicated to promoting social development by increasing female representation on boards. She is a founding member and board member of the leading high-impact entrepreneurship movement, Endeavor Turkey, a founding and honorary member of the Women Entrepreneurs Association of Turkey, and chairman of the Executive Advisory Board and member of the board of patrons of the Contemporary Istanbul Art Fair. Ms. Sabancı acted as Luxembourg’s Honorary Consul in Istanbul between 2005 and 2022 for 17 years. In 2014, Ms. Sabancı 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 holds a BA in Finance from Richmond College in the UK and an MBA from Boston University in the USA. Ms. Sabancı has two children.
 

Serra Sabancı was born in Adana in 1975 and graduated from the University of Portsmouth, and Istanbul Bilgi University, Department of Economics, where she graduated as the top student in her class. Having served at Temsa, Serra Sabancı participated in the Institute of Directors (IOD) seminars and courses on Board Membership, Mergers and Acquisitions in London after becoming a Board Member of Sabancı Holding. Serra Sabancı currently serves as Board Member at Sabancı Holding. She is also a Member of the Board of the Sabancı Foundation.

Elçin Melisa Sabancı Tapan earned her BA in International Business and Psychology  at Richmond University in London before completing her graduate studies at  Columbia University in New York in Economics and Political Development. During  these years, she pursued additional training at consultancy companies including BCG  and PWC, the International Energy Agency, and Sabancı Holding; she later completed  a management trainee program at Marshall Wace. 
Melisa has worked in several fields pursuing diverse projects ranging from financial  inclusion to sustainable industry. Focusing her knowledge and experience around  initiatives targeting social impact, she founded Gate 27 in the autumn of 2019 to  enable value creators, artists and projects centered on sustainability and economic  development. She has since overseen its growth, establishing collaborations with  leading institutions in the art world. 
Melisa concentrates on social entrepreneurship in both her professional and  personal work. She supports the Sabancı Foundation, and in line with its vision and  that of Sabancı University and the Sakıp Sabancı Museum, acts as an advisor in  social responsibility projects with a number of different civil society organizations. 
Melisa is currently a member of the board of directors at Sabancı Holding and  member of the board of trustees at Sabancı University. She is a member of the Tate  International Council and TUSIAD.
 

Agah Ugur studied industrial engineering at the University of Birmingham, UK then qualified as a chartered accountant in England.

He worked in England before joining Borusan Group in 1989 as CFO. He served as Group CEO between 2001 and 2018 until he retired.  

He is currently serving as vice chairperson of Dogan Holding and as board member in Pegasus, Coca Cola, Alcatel Lucent Teletaş, Gözde Girişim as well as advisory board member in some reputable Turkish corporations.  

Since 2019, Agah Ugur is a partner and chairperson in Bogazici Ventures. He also manages his own portfolio of technology startups.

Agah held more than 15 board and advisory board positions in various NGO’s during his professional career and currently he is a member of High Advisory Council of TUSIAD, of the Board of Trustees of Sabanci University of the Advisory Board of Columbia University Istanbul Global Center. He is also a founding member and vice chairperson of Saha Foundation, supporting Turkish contemporary art.

He is an art collector with a special focus on new media and video art.

Building on his extensive executive career within the Sabancı Group, Şerafettin Karakış became Secretary General of Sabancı Holding on April 30, 2025 and Chief Audit Executive on January 1, 2026. 

Following these current leadership roles, he holds several high-level positions within the Group, serving as Chairman of the Board at Tursa Sabancı Tourism and Investment Enterprises Inc. and Ankara International Hotel Management Inc., Deputy Chairman at Sabancı Climate Technologies and Temsa Motor Vehicles, and Board Member at Çimsa Building Solutions B.V. and the DXBV Supervisory Board.

His career at Sabancı Holding further includes serving as President of Tax, Accounting, Structure, and Financial Regulations Management until April 2025, Director of the same department from 2010 to 2021, and Tax Consultant upon joining the Group in 2006. Prior to his tenure at Sabancı, he served as a Tax Inspector at the Ministry of Finance between 1995 and 2006. 

His academic background is built on a degree from the Faculty of Political Sciences at Istanbul University (1994), a Master’s degree in the Theory of Public Finance (1995), and an Executive MBA from Sabancı University (2008), complemented by prestigious executive programs at The Wharton School and the University of Oxford, Saïd Business School.

Regarding his contributions to professional organizations, Mr. Karakış was appointed as a Member of the Board of Directors, Treasurer, and President of the Economy and Finance Round Table at TÜSİAD as of January 15, 2026, following his chairmanship of the TÜSİAD Tax Working Group between 2019 and 2026. Additionally, as of 2026, he has become a member of TIDE (The Institute of Internal Auditors). 

As of February 12, 2026, Karakış has been appointed as a Member of the Board of Trustees of Sabancı University.
 

Cemal Kafadar (b. 15 August 1954, Istanbul), historian. He has been the Vehbi Koç Chair of Turkish Studies at Harvard University since the position was established in 1997.

After completing his secondary education at Istanbul High School for Boys (1965-69) and Robert College (1969-73), he studied at Hamilton College in the USA, graduating in 1977. He received an MA in Ottoman History at the Islamic Research Institute at McGill University in Canada (1977-81), staying on to study for a doctorate (1981-1986). Professor Kafadar was a member of the academic staff at Princeton University Department of Near Eastern Studies (1985-89), transferring to Harvard University Department of History in 1990. In 1997, he was made Vehbi Koç Chair of Turkish Studies. He served as director of the Harvard University Center for Middle Eastern Studies (1999-2004 and 2009-10) and still lectures in the university’s Department of History, teaching archival research, popular culture and Ottoman historiography. Professor Kadafar was a guest lecturer at EHESS (École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales) in Paris from 1997 to 1998 and at Boğaziçi University in 2005 and 2009. His areas of interest are the social and cultural history of the Middle East and Southeast Europe at the beginning of the modern era. 

Professor Kafadar has published numerous books, including Suleiman the Second and His Time (with Halil İnalcık, 1993), Between Two Worlds: The Construction of the Ottoman State (1995), Kim Var İmiş Biz Burada Yoğ İken – Dört Osmanlı: Yeniçeri, Tüccar, Derviş ve Hatun (Who Was Here While We Were Not – Four Ottomans: a Janissary, a Merchant, a Dervish and a Lady; 2009) and Kendine Ait Bir Roma: Diyar-ı Rum’da Kültürel Coğrafya ve Kimlik (A Rome of One's Own: Reflections on Cultural Geography and Identity in the Lands of Rum; 2017). He received the Presidential Office Grand Culture and Arts Prize in 2010.

Yusuf Leblebici received the B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in electrical engineering from Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey, in 1984 and 1986, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), IL, USA, in 1990. Between 1991 and 2000, 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. In 2002, Yusuf Leblebici became a Chair Professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) and Director of the Microelectronic Systems Laboratory. In November 2018, he was appointed as President of Sabanci University. 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 coauthor 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.