Board of Directors

Aziz Murat ULUĞ

Chairman of the Board

Having a bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering at Istanbul Technical University, Mr. A. Murat Uluğ was granted the master’s degree after graduating from the joint Executive MBA program of Manchester Business School and Istanbul Bilgi University.

Mr. Uluğ who started his professional life as an executive candidate at Garanti Bank in 1992, continued his banking career at HSBC and ABN AMRO Bank after serving at Garanti Bank. Mr. Uluğ began to work as the Finance Coordinator at Akfen Group in 2005 during the privatization of Vehicle Inspection Stations, Mersin Port and Iskenderun Port as well as the urban hospitality projects carried out in cooperation with the French hotel group Accor.

Later, Mr. Uluğ was appointed as the CFO of TAV Airports Holding, the largest subsidiary of the Group and managed the company’s public offering in 2007 and the privatization projects of 10 domestic and international airports. Mr. Uluğ served as the Assistant General Manager of Istanbul Deniz Otobüsleri company as his final position in the Group. Later, he worked as a senior executive in the real estate industry for two years.

Mr. Uluğ continued his professional life abroad, in Bahrain between 2016 and 2020, giving service as the Investments Director of an infrastructure investment fund which was established by the Islamic Development Bank and co-owned and supported by the wealth funds of Bahrain, Brunei and Saudi Arabia.

Appointed to Türkiye Wealth Fund (TVF) as the Chief Investment Officer at the end of 2020, Mr. Uluğ still serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors for the asset companies Türkiye Sigorta, Türkiye Hayat Emeklilik and Türk Şeker Tarım; as the Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors for TVF Istanbul Finance Center and as the Board Member for Kayseri Şeker Fabrikası, along with his current position at the wealth fund.

Taha ÇAKMAK

Vice Chairman and CEO

Mr. Taha ÇAKMAK graduated from Hacettepe University, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Department of Business Administration in English. After serving as Assistant Inspector at the Social Insurance Institution in 2005, Mr. Taha ÇAKMAK worked as Inspector at the Inspection Board, Business Design Manager at the Operations Center Department, Ankara Retail Branch Manager, Human Resources Department Head and Ankara Public Corporate Branch Manager at Ziraat Bank between 2005-2019.

Mr. Taha ÇAKMAK, after serving as Head of The Privatization Administration of Türkiye at Treasury and Finance Ministry, in 2019, he worked as the Vice President at the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency between 2019-2021 and as the Vice President of the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye between 2021-2023.

Mr. Taha ÇAKMAK has been serving as the General Manager and Vice Chairman at Türkiye Sigorta and Türkiye Hayat Emeklilik as of 3 August 2023.

Mr. ÇAKMAK also continues to serve as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Agricultural Insurance Pool, Chairman of the Board of Directors of OSEM, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Turk P&I Sigorta and Board Member of the Pension Monitoring Center.

Muhammed Mahmut ER

Board Member

Graduated from Computer Programming Department at Yıldız Technical University in 2004, Mr. Muhammed Mahmut Er received his bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering and master’s degree in Business Administration in 2010. Mr. Er completed the MBA program at Yıldız Technical University in 2022 after finishing his graduate studies in Information Security Engineering in 2015.

He started his career as the System Consultant of Automation Systems in 2004. Later, Mr. Er continued his career as a Software Developer at the first web-based ERP company of Türkiye in 2007. He was involved in more than 20 e-transformation projects as an Expert Software Developer, System Analyst and Project Leader in ERP, MRP, CRM, PMS, CMS, PAM and LMS modules. He began to work in the security industry in 2010, and leaded various units in the company. In 2016, he became an Advisor to the President of the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) and worked on the establishment of the Project Management Office and BTK Academy.

In 2018, he took over the coordination of the SGOM Project (Cyber Security Operations Center) which is crucial for Türkiye’s energy security. In 2019, he coordinated 1 million software developers project that is of great importance for Türkiye’s human resources in the field of technology. Elected as the Board Member of Türkiye Sigorta and Türkiye Hayat Emeklilik on September 10, 2020, Mr. Er is married with two children.

Bilal BEDİR

Board Member

Mr. Bilal Bedir graduated from Boğaziçi University, Department of Business Administration in 2007 and started his professional career at Reckitt Benckiser.

Mr. Bedir worked in various departments at Reckitt Benckiser and served as Commercial Marketing Manager until 2014.

Mr. Bedir served as Assistant Director at TRT World in 2015-2016, as TRT World UK Country Manager in London between 2016-2017, and as Head of Advertising Department at TRT between 2020-2021. Mr. Bedir then served as Assistant General Manager in charge of support units at İhracatı Geliştirme (İGE) A.Ş.  Mr. Bedir served as the General Secretary of the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM) between 2022 and 2024. As of June 2024, Mr. Bedir has been serving as the Assistant General Manager of Turkiye Wealth Fund.

Mr. Bedir, who speaks fluent English and intermediate German, was elected as a member of the Board of Directors of Türkiye Sigorta and Türkiye Hayat Emeklilik on June 6, 2024.

Ayşe TÜRKMENOĞLU

Independent Board Member

After graduating from Istanbul University Faculty of Law, Ms. Türkmenoğlu worked as a freelance lawyer. Ms. Türkmenoğlu took part in Konya Bar Association Women's Rights Commission and Child Rights Commission.

In the July 22, 2007 General Elections, Ms. Türkmenoğlu was elected as Konya Member of Parliament for the 23rd term from AK Party.

Ms. Türkmenoğlu, who served for 7 years as the Chief Advisor to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is also a member of the Presidential Legal Policy Council and an expert mediator in the field of banking and insurance law. She speaks intermediate English and German.

On June 6, 2024, Ms. Türkmenoğlu was elected as an Independent Member of the Board of Directors of Türkiye Sigorta and Türkiye Hayat Emeklilik. Ms. Türkmenoğlu is married and has one child.

Prof. Dr. Murat AKBALIK

Independent Board Member

Having graduated from Istanbul University Faculty of Political Sciences the Public Administration Department in 1991, Prof. Murat Akbalık completed the graduate program at the Institute of Banking and Insurance at Marmara University in 1993 and the post-graduate program in 2001. He became an Assistant Professor in 2005, Associate Professor in 2011 and Professor in 2017.

He serves as the Head of Capital Markets Division at Marmara University School of Banking and Insurance, Member of Management Board of Institute of Banking at Marmara University, Head of Capital Markets and Stock Exchange Division at Marmara University Institute of Banking and Insurance, and Assistant Manager of Marmara University Institute of Banking and Insurance.

As of 1 June 2020, Prof. Akbalık was appointed as the Board Member of Halk Sigorta, Ziraat Sigorta, Halk Emeklilik, Ziraat Emeklilik and Vakıf Emeklilik. Currently serving as the Independent Board Member of Türkiye Sigorta and Türkiye Hayat Emeklilik after the merger of insurance companies on August 31, 2020 and of pension companies on September 1, 2020, Prof. Akbalık has good command of English.

Prof. Dr. Enver Alper GÜVEL

Independent Board Member

Born in 1965 in Kadirli, Prof. Dr. Enver Alper Güvel completed his high school education at Adana Anatolian High School in 1983. In 1989, Mr. Güvel completed his undergraduate education at Ankara University Faculty of Political Sciences, in 1992 he completed his master's degree at Atatürk University and Mr. Güvel completed his doctorate in Economics at Atatürk University in 1995.

In 1990, Mr. Güvel started working as a Research Assistant at Atatürk University, followed by Cumhuriyet University in 1995 and Çukurova University in 1998 as an Assistant Professor. In 1998,  Mr. Güvel joined Çukurova University, where he was promoted to Associate Professor in 1999 and Professor in 2004. Mr. Gürel started to work as a Professor in the field of International Trade and Finance at Istanbul Gedik University in 2021.

Prof. Dr. Enver Alper Güvel has been a member of the Senate and Board of Directors at Gedik University since 2022. On June 6, 2024, he was elected as an Independent Board Member of Türkiye Sigorta and Türkiye Hayat Emeklilik.