ABOUT ÜLKER
AHMET BAL
Chairman of the Board of Directors / Independent Member
Married and the proud father of two children, Ahmet Bal (b. 1957, Tokat, Türkiye) holds a BA in Political Science and a MBA in Business Administration, the latter from Nottingham University. After having worked on the Tax Inspectors Board for the Turkish Ministry of Finance, he became a Senior Tax Inspector & Certified Public Accountant in 1991. His impressive resumé also includes: Assistant Financial Affairs Coordinator – Anadolu Endüstri Holding (1994), Chief Financial Officer (responsible for Coca-Cola’s overseas operations via Anadolu Group) (1995 – 1998) and General Manager (1998 – 1999) – Efes Sınai Yatırım Ticaret A.Ş., Financial Affairs Coordinator (responsible for automotive, financial, and stationary projects) (1999 – 2006) and Audit Coordinator (2006 – 2012) – Anadolu Endüstri Holding., Auditor – Anadolu Group Companies (2013 – 2018).
ALİ ÜLKER
Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors
Ali Ülker was born in 1969 and educated in the Business Administration Department of the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences at Boğaziçi University, Istanbul. He has also attended various programs at IMD and Harvard. He worked in the Internal Kaizen Projects at De Boccard & Yorke Consultancy (1992) and on IESC Sales System Development and Internal Organization Projects (1997).
Mr. Ülker joined the group in 1985 as an intern in the quality control department of Ülker Gıda. From 1986 to 1998 he worked at chocolate production facilities and at Atlas Gıda Pazarlama in positions including Sales Manager, Sales Coordinator, Product Group Coordinator, and Product Group Director.
n 1998 Mr. Ülker became the General Director of Atlas Gıda Pazarlama, and in 2001 became the General Director of Merkez Gıda Pazarlama. In 2002, he rose to Vice Chairman of the food group and in 2005 Chairman of the group. After working as Vice-Chairman of Yıldız Holding Board of Directors for nine years, as of January 29, 2020 Ali Ülker became the Chairman of Yıldız Holding.
Ali Ülker is married with three children. He enjoys fishing, the movie theater and literature, as well as playing basketball and billiards.
Ali Ülker holds a vast amount of experience in marketing and sales, being especially interested in innovation, and thus particularly supporting all who work in that field within the Yıldız Holding Group. Ülker enjoys working with young people and is also fond of the great nature and sports. Fluent in Turkish, English, and German, Ali is married and the proud father of three children.
MURAT ÜLKER
Member of the Board of Directors
Murat Ülker was born in 1959. He graduated from the Management Department of the School of Administrative Sciences at Boğaziçi University, Istanbul.
Mr. Ülker studied sector-specific subjects at international schools such as the American Institute of Baking (AIB) and Zentralfachschule der Deutschen Süßwarenwirtschaft (ZDS), serving an internship at American Company Continental Baking. In three years, he visited nearly 60 biscuit, chocolate and food factories in the United States and Europe. He also worked on various projects for the International Executive Service Corps (IESC).
Mr. Ülker joined Yıldız Holding in 1984 as Control Coordinator. Over the following years he assumed the roles of Assistant General Manager assistant general manager, and then General Director. As a member of the Executive Committee and a Board Member of various companies in the group, he led a series of cornerstone investments.
In 2000 Mr. Ülker became Chairman of the Executive Committee having served committee, serving as Chairman for eight years. In 2008 he became Chairman of the Board of Directors. As of January 29, 2020, Ülker continues to take an active role in companies affiliated to the holding as a member of the board.
Mr. Ülker is known for his interest in modern art and Islamic calligraphy. He enjoys sailing and traveling with his wife and three children.
METE BUYURGAN
CEO
Following his elementary, secondary and high school education in Adana, Mete Buyurgan graduated from Çukurova University’s Department of Business Administration. Afterwards, he earned a Master’s degree in Human Resources Management from Marmara University’s English Business School. He then completed the “Sales Management” program at New York University.
Buyurgan started his career at Başer & Colgate Palmolive in 1994, playing different roles in marketing and sales for 12 years. Later, in 2005, he joined Hobi Cosmetics Inc. to carry out their restructuring project as General Manager. With an aggressive and profitable growth strategy, he led the company to a 400% growth rate in 4 years and established one of Europe’s largest personal care factories, which resulted in the company’s very successful sale to Dabur India, one of the largest fast-moving consumer goods companies in India. Under Dabur International, he served as regional CEO for about four and a half years and managed the company’s Central Asia, North Africa, Middle East, Türkiye and Iran regions.
Buyurgan joined Yildiz Holding in 2013 as Vice President of the Food Group and managed various companies within the Holding. During this period, he was responsible for the restructuring of the gum and candy company, the management and coordination of JV companies within YH, and ultimately the management of Ülker Chocolate and Biscuit companies.
Between 2016 and 2018, Buyurgan was appointed President of Pladis Türkiye, and in 2018, he became the President of Pladis Türkiye, Central Asia, Romania and the Balkan Region. In addition to his duties, Buyurgan was appointed CEO of Ülker in February 2020. He has taken on many responsabilities to further heighten Ülker’s strength in the Turkish market, especially in the gum and candy, bakery and chocolate categories. Under his leadership, detailed studies in many areas from financial to innovation processes, production, R&D, sales, marketing, human resources, supply chain, export, social projects, and sustainability were carried out to strengthen brand perception. Buyurgan is married and has two children.