Corporate Governance
I
Board of Directors
Board of Directors
Haluk Dinçer
Chair of the Board of Directors
After starting his career at General Motors Technical Center in 1985, Dinçer joined Sabancı Group in August 1995, serving initially as Executive Board Member, and then in December 1995, as Executive Vice Chairman of Temsa. In October 2001, he assumed responsibilities within the Holding company, first as Food Group Vice President, and six months later in April 2022, as Holding Executive Board Member and Food Group President. He took over as Food and Retail Group President in September 2004, and after organizational restructuring in March 2011, as Retail and Insurance Group President. In June 2016, after reorganization, Dinçer was named Insurance Group President and later in April 2020, Financial Services Group President. With this role, he currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Aksigorta, AgeSA, Exsa, Tursa and Ankara Enternasyonel Otelcilik, as well as Board Member of Brisa. Haluk Dinçer served as President of TÜSİAD in 2014-2015, and is still a member of the TÜSİAD Presidents’ Council. He also served as President of Turkish-American Business Council (TAİK) within the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK) in 2008-2014. He has been a Board Member of the Global Relations Forum (GRF) since February 2018 and a member of the Geneva Association since June 2019. Dinçer has a BSE degree in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA, both from the University of Michigan.
Ben Coumans
Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors
Starting his career at Fortis Bank in 2000, Ben Coumans worked in several positions in merger and acquisition, strategy and business development departments. Between 2008 and 2014, Coumans served as Managing Director at Leonardo & Co Investment Banking company. In 2014, he joined Ageas as the director responsible from strategy and business development. Between 2021-2024, he worked as Strategy and M&A Managing Director of Ageas Group. As of June 1, 2024, Coumans has been the Managing Director responsible from Ageas Group Europe Region. He has a bachelor’s degree in Law from Namur University. Coumans also has an MBA degree from Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School and master’s degree in Law from Catholic University Leuven (KUL). He also took part in “Managing Partnerships and Strategic Alliances” training program at INSEAD Business School.
Emmanuel Gerard C. Van Grimbergen
Board Member
Before joining Ageas in 2011, Emmanuel Gerard C. Van Grimbergen was senior manager in various positions at Risk, Actuary and Product Development departments in ING for 18 years. After joining Ageas Group in 2011, he worked as Assistant General Manager in charge of Risk between 2019-2024 and was also a Member of the Ageas Board of Directors. As of June 1, 2024, he has been the Ageas Reinsurance and Investment Managing Director. He is also a member of the East West Ageas Life (Philippines), Aksigorta, MediSA, Royal Park Investments, AG Real Estate, Maybank Ageas Holdings Berhad, Taiping Reinsurance Company Limited, Ageas Re Services Switzerland AG, Ageas Insurance International NV companies’ Board of Directors. Van Grimbergen holds a master’s degree in mathematics and actuary sciences and is a member of the Actuaries Institute in Belgium.
Karolien Gielen
Board Member
Karolien Gielen started her professional career at Boston Consulting Group in 2007. Between 2007 and 2024, she served in miscellaneous positions especially focusing on insurance and financial ecosystem. She led the works of Boston Consulting Group focusing on insurance between 2022-2024 and within this scope, she worked as Practice Area Lead for Insurance (London, Amsterdam, Brussels) responsible for London, Amsterdam and Belgium regions. Between 2011-2012, she took a break from her roles under Boston Consulting Group and worked as a consultant at Belgium Cabinet on financial crisis management, government aids and retirement. As of June 1, 2024, she has been working as the Business Development Managing Director of Ageas Group. She has MSc Commercial Engineering and Master in Education (Teaching) degrees from Belgium Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.
Fırat Kuruca
Board Member, CEO
Fırat Kuruca graduated from the Department of Business Administration of the Faculty of Administrative Sciences at Boğaziçi University. Having started his professional career at Unilever-Türkiye in 1989, Kuruca has served in various positions. Kuruca respectively worked at Unilever-Türkiye (Management Accountant), Unilever Europe-Belgium (Commercial Officer), Unilever-Türkiye (Purchasing Manager), Unilever-Germany (Audit Director), and Unilever Europe- Belgium (CEE Finance Director). Leaving Unilever in 2004, he returned to Türkiye and became Finance and Administrative Affairs Director at Koç Holding Setur Divan İşletmeleri. In 2005, he joined AgeSA as Assistant General Manager in charge of Finance. Kuruca has been serving as CEO of AgeSA as of January 1, 2017. In addition to his role in AgeSA, he also has been serving as the CEO of Aksigorta as of June 1, 2024.
Uğur Gülen
Board Member
Uğur Gülen obtained undergraduate and Master’s degrees from Middle East Technical University, Department of Industrial Engineering. Uğur Gülen began his professional career in 1991 and served in various positions at Interbank, DenizBank, Ak Internet and MNG Bank. During 2004-2009, he worked at Ak Emeklilik, AvivaSA Emeklilik and Hayat A.Ş. as Assistant General Manager. Between 2009-2024, he served as General Manager of Aksigorta. Uğur Gülen has been serving as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Insurance Association of Türkiye (TSB) as of September 2023.
Burcu Civelek Yüce
Board Member
Burcu Civelek Yüce is the Assistant General Manager of Akbank Consumer Banking and Digital Solutions. Before this position, Burcu Civelek Yüce served as Head of Strategy Department, Assistant General Manager of Human Resources and Strategy, and Assistant General Manager of Digital Banking and Payment Systems respectively at Akbank. Prior to joining Akbank, she worked at international consulting and technology companies. Burcu Civelek Yüce has a B.Sc. degree in Industrial Engineering and an Executive MBA degree from Boğaziçi University, graduating both first in rank. She participated in courses at Harvard Business School and Koç University. One of the mentees of Women on Board Association Türkiye, Burcu Civelek Yüce is the AkÖde’s Chair of the Board of Directors and Board Member of Aksigorta, AgeSA, MediSA, Ak Portföy, Akbank Ventures BV, DX Technology Services and Investment BV, Teknosa and Endeavor Türkiye.
Sitare Sezgin
Board Member
Sitare Sezgin started her career under the roof of Bain & Company and Boston Consulting Group. In 2004, she joined Sabancı Group to work as Strategy and Business Development Manager at Retail Group. After that, in 2009, she was appointed to Akbank as Senior Vice President of New Product and Channel Development. Between 2011 and 2018, Sitare Sezgin managed Back Up and Bofis Turizm companies affiliated to Boyner Group. In 2018, she returned to Sabancı Group as the founder CEO and Member of the Board of Directors of AkÖde, a subsidiary of Akbank. Since September 2021, Sitare Sezgin has been serving as CEO of Teknosa. She also continues her roles as Board Member of Health and Education Foundation (SEV), Zincir Mağazalar Derneği (Chain Stores Association), YenidenBiz and Euronics. Sitare Sezgin also takes part in different associations such as Women on Board Association, W-Tech and Yanındayız, which conduct studies on gender equality in Turkish business world.
Fatma Dilek Yardım
Independent Board Member
She was born in 1963 in Istanbul. After finishing Sankt Georg Austria High School, she graduated from Boğaziçi University, Department of Business Administration. She also finished Manchester Business School & University of Bangor joint MBA Program. Fatma Dilek Yardım started her professional career at Interbank in 1988. She worked as Director at Bankers Trust A.Ş. between 1990-1999, as General Manager and Assistant General Manager at Deutsche Bank A.Ş. between 1999-2007, as General Manager and Head of Customer Services at Credit Agricole Yatırım Bankası Türk A.Ş. between 2007-2012, as General Manager and Head of Corporate Customers at Standart Chartered Yatırım Bankası Türk A.Ş. between 2012-2016. Between 2017-2018, Yardım provided consultancy to Experian company established in England on Turkish growth strategy. Since 2019, she has been serving as Istanbul Branch Manager of Commerz Real, the real estate investment trust established in Germany. Yardım served as Independent Board Member of Çimsa Çimento Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş., Pınar Entegre Et ve Un San. A.Ş., Altın Yunus Çeşme Resort & Thermal Hotel, Enerjisa Enerji A.Ş. before. She is still a Board Member at Aksigorta, AgeSA and Brisa Bridgestone Sabancı companies. During her professional life, Yardım has worked at non-governmental organizations such as YASED, TUSIAD, DEIK. She has knowledge of English and German.
Hüseyin Gürer
Independent Board Member
Hüseyin Gürer started his career at Deloitte Türkiye in 1986 and worked as an auditor at Deloitte London office between 1989-1990. Assuming various roles including Chairman of the Audit Department, Gürer has been elected CEO of Deloitte Türkiye in 2007. He managed Deloitte Türkiye as CEO until 2016. Gürer played a role in the efforts to implement International Financial Reporting Standards in Türkiye, working with groups led by the Ministry of Finance and various professional organizations. Gürer also served as Member of the Audit Committee at International Investors Association (YASED). During the May 2018-April 2021 period, he served as Chairman of the Audit and Risk Committee as a Member of Eczacıbaşı Group Board of Directors. He serves as an Independent Board Member and Chairman of the Audit Committee of AgeSA. Hüseyin Gürer has a Bachelor’s degree from Ege University and a Master’s degree from Ankara Middle East Technical University, Department of Business Administration.
