Board Of TBC

Kanat Kutluk

President Turkish Business Council

Kanat Kutluk is a Corporate and Social Entrepreneur carrying multiple hats varying from Chemical to Food Industries as well as taking part in significant social & community programs.
He is an alumni of INSEAD Global Executive MBA Program, has a Bachelor of Arts Diploma in Political Science & International Relations from University of Istanbul and a Master of Arts Diploma of Economics from Marmara University. He is a strong believer of Communication and Coordination leads any team to overachievement. Recognized as a result oriented dynamic personality, a good listener and a reliable partner. He has built his career within regions of Africa Middle East, Central Asia, Türkiye and Subcontinent whom he has served over 25 years.
Kanat Kutluk has been living in Dubai for the past 17 years, serving the community as the Vice President of Turkish Business Council in Dubai and Northern Emirates in the last two terms.

Timur Ilgaz

Cluster General Manager, Rotana, Vice President Turkish Business Council

Timur Ilgaz, who was born in Istanbul in June 1967, continued his education in Istanbul. He started his professional career in 1986 along with his higher education. Since then, he has been consistently involved in the hospitality industry. In 1993, Ilgaz went abroad for international assignments from Turkey and has held senior management positions in Canada, the Czech Republic, Kazakhstan, and the UAE for the past 19 years. He currently works as a Cluster General Manager at Rotana, responsible for three different hotel companies. Since his arrival in the UAE, Ilgaz has been supporting TBC either as an external member or by serving on the board of directors for the past 10 years. Ilgaz is married and a father of two children. Alongside his career in hospitality, he has also had a passion for sailing since his childhood and continues to pursue this hobby in the UAE.

Aycil Aktug

Regional Director, HSK Furniture Trading LLC (Sandalyeci)

She was born and raised in Mersin, a beautiful city on the south coast of Turkiye. Inspired by her father and her enthusiasm for designing spaces for life, she was led to become an architect. She studied both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Architecture at YTU, Istanbul.
Her career began in Germany, where she worked on architectural renovation projects. After moving back to Istanbul, she engaged in various luxury hotel interior projects, which prompted her decision to specialize further in interior design. Establishing her own company in Izmir, she executed ID projects.
During her time in Turkey, she volunteered for social projects in different organizations. In 2014, SANDALYECI ME was founded. The company specializes in high-quality and contract-value loose furniture manufacturing for the hospitality industry. Over the course of 9 years, they delivered more than 1,500 projects in the Gulf and Middle East region. SANDALYECI has been a corporate member of TBC since 2014, actively participating and supporting as many projects as possible.
For 12 years, she has been living in Dubai with her family. A proud mother of a son who is about to embark on a new chapter of his life in the UK. Their home is shared with two precious friends, Happy and Smokey.
She considers herself fortunate to have time for her hobbies and sports, such as Ebru marbling, reading, baking, cycling, and yoga. Additionally, she is privileged to support and participate in various CSR projects. Her belief is rooted in the idea that the greatest happiness comes from helping others and being a part of their accomplishments.
With the commencement of the new term of TBC, she eagerly anticipates working towards developing business opportunities for Turkish businesspeople and contributing to the Turkish community through TBC projects and activities.

Aytac Akturk

Managing Partner, Detech Contracting LLC

Born in 1974 in Nigde, this individual completed their basic and secondary schooling in Ankara. In 1997, a degree in civil engineering was obtained from Nigde University. Between 1997 and 2003, infrastructure projects across various Turkish cities were the focus of their work.
In 2003, a move to Dubai occurred as they were assigned the role of a manager for a project in the city. Alongside two other civil engineers, Detech Contracting was founded in 2007. Since its inception, the company has achieved the successful completion of multiple projects, with six active projects currently underway.

Idris Demirhan

Founder & CEO, Gate World Consultancy DMCC

Started his career as a Manager at Orient-Light. He is in charge of providing consultancy services to companies coming from the Gulf Countries that wanted to expand their organizations in Turkey or make new investments. He became an investment consultant in Turkey for large companies such as DAMAC, Emirates Islamic Bank, Al Ghurair Investment Group, Deyaar Development PCS, and many more. After intensifying interest in the BAE market in 2006, he moved to Dubai for internship opportunities at JAFZA. In December 2012, he became the Regional Director of the Gulf Countries of a major construction company in UAE and the Gulf countries, as well as Asian and European investors, attracted attention and invited to invest in real estate throughout Turkey. He has completed his MBA degree in International Business (Middlesex University, London), Masters of Arts in Industry, Politics & Technology Management (Istanbul) and PHD holder in the same area.He became the Chairman of MUSIAD Independent Industrialists and Businessmen Association of Turkey (Dubai) since August 2017 till now. And one of the BoardMember in Turkish Business CouncilDubai.As a Chairman at Gate World, he continues to direct investors for new opportunities.

Mehmet Can Eronat

Managing Partner, Eronat Online Media

Turkish-Dutch businessman born in the Netherlands, living in Dubai for 20 years and a member of TBC for 18 years. Founder of Eronat Online Media, a digital marketing agency specializing in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region. Partner of Finance Monkey, a booking and tax consultancy company and owner of Eronat Businessmen Services.
Keywords: #BilgiDubai.com #FinanceMonkey #Business Formation #Marketing #Networking #Localization Specialist #Online Reputation Management # AR VR AI specialist

Mehmet Sirin Akyuz

General Manager, Altunkaya Group of Companies (Mahmood Tea & Coffee)

Mehmet Sirin Akyuz is the managing director of ALTUNKAYA GROUP based in Dubai. Aged 40, he is married and a father of two sons. His professional journey spans 15 years in Dubai.
ALTUNKAYA GROUP boasts a global presence and serves as a representative of Turkey in various foreign markets across both the food and non-food sectors. Akyuz’s overarching vision revolves around fostering innovative and sustainable growth.
Embracing his role as a fresh addition to the Turkish Business Council, he expresses enthusiasm for collaborating towards the shared objective of the TBC.

Mehmet Zingal

General Manager, Turkish Airlines (Honorary Member)

Mehmed Zingal was born on May 10, 1981, in Germany. He completed his primary, secondary, and high school education in Denizli. In 1999, he was accepted to the Eastern Mediterranean University, where he studied Political Science and Public Administration, graduating in 2004. He pursued a master’s degree in aviation management through a joint program between THY Academy and Cranfield University. Zingal began his career in the family business and joined Turkish Airlines in 2010. He held various positions, including Marketing Sales Specialist, Oman Marketing Manager, Oman Country Manager, and Qatar Country Manager. Currently, he serves as the Country Manager for the UAE. Zingal is fluent in English and Arabic and is a father of two children.

Okan Kizilirmak Regional Director, AKSA Power Generation FZE

After graduation from Yildiz Technical University, Istanbul / Mechanical Engineering Degree in 2003, had studied in Texas A&M University, USA in 2004. Served to Turkish Military as an Officer Mechanical Engineer in National Defence Ministry, NATO Construction Department.
His professional career started in Aug. 2005 at Aksa Power Generation HQ, Istanbul. Between June 2009- Jan. 2012 handled Export Director position in Aksa Power Generation (China) Co. Ltd. in Jiangsu, CHINA. After that, he has established the Aksa Power Generation USA LLC in Louisiana, USA at the beginning of 2012 as The Founder G.M. In June 2013, he was assigned as Global Export Manager in Head Quarter of AKSA to manage global sales operation. In 2018, he has appointed as Regional Director for a new duty based on Dubai to focus on business development and new investment opportunities in Middle East & Africa as well as managing existing MEA organization. Aksa Power Generation FZE has been serving since 2003 in Jafza , Dubai and active member of TBC since the beginning, In addition to his professional career, In 2021, he was invited as board member for Energy Business Council of UAE which is built by Multinational Task Force. In 2022, he was also elected as board member for Turkey- UAE Business Council of Foreign Economic Relation Board of Turkey ( DEIK ) He also served as board member for some other Business Councils of DEIK which are related to Africa and Far East in the past. He also provides consultancy for scientific researches of University of Basel, Switzerland and also Aarhus University, Denmark about global trade from South East Asia/ HR Approach in the Africa as just volunteer basis.