Board of Directors

He began his career as an inspector at Ziraat Bank. Following his administrative role in the bank's international relations department, he served as Representative in Germany and the Netherlands and as Country Manager at the London branch in the United Kingdom. Emin Erdem was subsequently appointed as Deputy General Manager and Member of the Board of Directors at Ziraat Bank. During his tenure in this role, he also served as Chairman of the Board of Directors at DeutscheTürkische Bank in Germany. Erdem served as a Member of the Board of Directors at Şekerbank T.A.Ş. between June 2002 and July 2021. He currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors at Şeker Gayrimenkul Yatırım Ortaklığı A.Ş. and as Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors at Şeker Factoring A.Ş.

Aybala Şimşek Galpin completed her undergraduate education in Communication and Business Administration. She holds an MBA from Istanbul Bilgi University's Faculty of Business Administration and a Master's degree in Financial Strategy from Oxford University's Said Business School. Şimşek is also a graduate of the Harvard Business School General Management Programme. Şimşek began her career at Şekerbank in 2004 and has been responsible for managing numerous areas during her tenure at the bank, including Strategy, Corporate Communications, Digital Banking, Financial Institutions, Treasury, Sustainable Development Banking, Marketing and Risk Analytics, and Human Resources. Şimşek spearheaded the shaping of the Bank's social and environmental banking strategy and led the Bank's participation in numerous international platforms within this scope. Between 2019 and 2023, Şimşek managed the “Transformation Programme”, which significantly contributed to Şekerbank's financial performance and renewed all of the Bank's technological infrastructure, digital channels and processes. In September 2023, he was appointed as the General Manager of Şekerbank T.A.Ş. Şimşek is also a Member of the Board of Directors of Şekerbank Cyprus Ltd., Şeker Factoring A.Ş., Şeker Financial Leasing A.Ş., Şeker Real Estate Investment Partnership A.Ş., and Sekar Oto Fleet Management Services and Trade A.Ş.

Burak Latif Latifoğlu, who graduated from the Department of Economics (English) at Hacettepe University's Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, began his career as an Administrative Court Judge. He then moved to the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK), where he started as an Assistant Sworn Bank Auditor in 2006 and left in 2017 with the title of Chief Sworn Bank Auditor. During this period, he conducted numerous audits of banks and non-bank financial institutions in Turkey and abroad, and also served as Head of the Audit Group and Deputy Head of Department between 2014 and 2017. Latifoğlu served as General Manager at Şeker Financial Leasing Inc. between October 2017 and September 2019, and was appointed Deputy General Manager of Şekerbank T.A.Ş. in October 2019. Latifoğlu also serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Şekerbank T.A.Ş. Employee Social Insurance Fund Foundation.

Tevfik Türel is an executive with over 35 years of international experience in real estate development and management. Throughout his career, he has played key roles in the development of over 1 million square metres of space. He is currently an Independent Board Member at Şeker GYO and Managing Partner at Türel & Partners. In his previous roles, he served as General Manager of Real Estate Management at the Turkish Red Crescent Society, General Manager and COO at DKY Gayrimenkul, and founder and general manager of Ziylan Gayrimenkul. He has also served as CEO at Ata Gayrimenkul and Global Head of Real Estate Information Systems at Stewart International, as well as Regional Manager for Eurasia in the field of property guarantees. He holds a master's degree from the University of Dallas and a bachelor's degree from Boğaziçi University. He is currently pursuing a doctorate in real estate development at Ankara University. Türel is a licensed valuation expert by the Capital Markets Board (SPK) and is fluent in English and French. Born in Antalya in 1962, Türel is married and has two children.

He was born in the Manavgat district of Antalya. He completed his primary, secondary and high school education in Sefaköy, Istanbul. In 1991, he graduated from Ankara University, Faculty of Political Sciences, Department of International Relations. He worked as a marketer for a private food company. He served as an inspector at Egebank and Faisal Finance Institution, and as a manager at the Eminönü, Izmir and Ankara branches of Family Finance Institution. He began working at the Agricultural Bank of Turkey in June 2005. He served as Ankara Regional President for two years. In September 2007, he was appointed as Deputy General Manager responsible for Commercial Banking. He served as Deputy General Manager responsible for the bank's commercial marketing and commercial credit allocation for four years. Between 2012 and 2018, he served as General Manager at ZiraatBank BH, the bank's subsidiary in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He returned to Turkey in June 2018 and served as Regional President in Ankara. During his time at Ziraat Bank, Ali Rıza Akbaş served as a board member at the Bank's subsidiaries Fintek A.Ş., Ziraat Bank Macedonia, and Ziraat Bank Germany International A.G. He served as a board member and club president at Ziraat Bank Sports Club. Ali Rıza Akbaş, who also served as a board member at the Siyasallılar Foundation, is currently a member of the board of trustees at the Turgut Özal Foundation.