SPEAKERS

Originally hailing from the province of Giresun , Mehmet İlker AYCI was born in Istanbul in 1971. Having graduated from Bilkent University’s Department of Political Science and Public Administration in 1994, Mr. AYCI undertook research work at the U.K.’s Leeds University in the field of Political Science in 1995.

He obtained his Master’s Degree from Marmara University’s International Relations program in 1997.

Having begun his professional career in 1994, Mr. AYCI held a variety of positions at Kurtsan İlaçları A.Ş., Universal Dış Ticaret A.Ş. and İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality where he served as the Counselor to the then Mayor of Istanbul, H.E. Recep Tayyip ERDOĞAN, taking part in a number of development projects in Turkey’s largest city.

Appointed as the General Manager of Başak Sigorta in 2005, Mr. AYCI  took over the helm of one of the largest insurance companies in Turkey, Güneş Sigorta, in 2006 after a successful privatization process and he stayed at this position until 2011. Mr. AYCI’s strong belief in sports as a means of employee motivation led Güneş Sigorta Women’s Volleyball Team to many victories, including European Volleyball Confederation Challenge Cup Championship.

Mr. AYCI, assumed the responsibility of promoting Turkey’s investment environment and assisting foreign investors at the highest level in 2011, having been appointed as the President of the Investment Support and Promotion Agency of Turkey (ISPAT). Reporting directly to the then Prime Minister H.E. Recep Tayyip ERDOĞAN, Mr. AYCI and his team at ISPAT contributed to multi-billion-dollar investment projects in Turkey, creating employment, technology transfer and know-how in a number of  industries. He also organized various international events, promoting  Turkey’s investment appeal and investment opportunities to global business circles.

During his tenure at the Investment Support and Promotion Agency of Turkey, he was chosen first as the Vice President, then as the President of the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA), the umbrella organization of over 170 investment promotion agencies from 130 countries. As the President of WAIPA, Mr. AYCI worked towards making WAIPA the reference point in foreign direct investments while developing the cooperation and understanding between its member organizations.  During Mr. AYCI’s watch, WAIPA relocated its headquarters from Geneva, Switzerland to İstanbul, reflecting the increasing share of emerging nations in the global economy.

Since 2015, Mr. AYCI has been performing the duty of the Chairman of the Board and the Executive Committee of Turkish Airlines, Turkey’s National Flag Carrier and the airline that flies to more countries than any other.

Having held positions in different capacities in a number of organizations such as the Insurance and Re-insurance Association of Turkey, the Turkish-Chinese Business Council in Foreign Economic Relations Board, Vakıf Emeklilik A.Ş and Güneş Sigorta Sports Club, Mr. AYCI currently serves as a member in the Board of Directors and Audit Committees in various organizations such as the Turkish Football Federation and Turkish Airlines Sports Club. Mr. Aycı speaks English and Russian.