Discover the members of our team
Since 2006, ERAI Turkey has been offering its expertise thanks to a competent and operational team in the field. This qualified team has many years of experience in professional life and will help you take your first steps on the Turkish market. Here are the profiles of each of our team members:
Discover the members of our team
Since 2006, ERAI Turkey has been offering its expertise thanks to a competent and operational team in the field. This qualified team has many years of experience in professional life and will help you take your first steps in the Turkish market. Here are the profiles of our team members:
Simay KOCAOGLAN 
General Manager
After graduating from the French-speaking Galatasaray University with a Master’s degree in Political Science and International Relations, she began her career in business development at CIC, a French bank. Since then, she has dedicated herself to business development in the Turkish market. She joined ERAI, an international consulting association, and became its national director in 2009.
In 2015, after the closure of the association, she acquired shares in ERAI Turkey. She didn’t want to leave the ship of business development in Turkey. She continues to offer concrete solutions to international companies that are still interested in discovering the Turkish market. She has more than 20 years of experience in business development and management.
Her passion for sailing is also important to her and she sees her work as an extension of that. For each development project in Turkey, she sails with you, sailing towards your company’s success by developing the right strategies to accompany you into the Turkish market.
Strengths:
- Consulting
- Leadership
- Strategic Management
- Economic intelligence
- Business ethics
Tulay CAN
Head of Core Business Operations & Development
With a French-Turkish profile and a degree from the University of Lyon Lumières, Tülay worked for French companies from various sectors in Turkey, France, and Luxembourg in different departments. She is multilingual and has intercultural skills. She is experienced in project management, business development, market research, customer relationship management, online marketing, and training/workshops organizations for companies. She has been working in the ERAI Turkey team since 2019.
Her challenger spirit is reflected in her favorite activity: trekking.
Strengths:
- Project management,
- Business activities management
- Consulting and Support
- Market and partner research
- Entrepreneurship
Ilgaz AKYUREK
Head of Project Management
Graduated from the University of Istanbul, Ilgaz is an expert in project management, corporate relations, extensive market research, and social media management. She is also experienced in public relations and event management. She is fluent in English and has working experience with international companies. She has been a member of the ERAI Turkey team since 2017.
Her colorful personality is visible in her hobby: painting.
Strengths:
• Project management
• Business development
• Market research
• Digital marketing
• Work permit management
Nehir KOSTEK
Accounting & Administation Responsible
Nehir studied at Anadolu University and she is a key member of the team, with strong experience in human resources and accounting. She has been in charge of the administrative services, payroll and financial tasks of the company since 2014. She supports the clients in their financial and accounting projects, as well as purchasing and leasing needs.
She likes discovering new worlds in the books.
Strengths:
- Accounting & Administration
- Payroll management
- Human resources
- Purchasing management
- Planning and organisation
Celalettin KULTEKIN
Head of Accounting, Finances, HR & Payroll
A graduate of Istanbul University, Faculty of Business Administration, Celalettin is specialized in tax auditing and accounting for more than 25 years. After 13 years of experience as an independent financial consultant, he joined our team as Finance and Accounting Manager. He is a solution-oriented and experienced manager in the finance department.
He reflects his creative side of his personality in his hobby of wood crafting.
Strengths:
- Accounting
- Financial reporting
- Legal and Tax advice
- Analytical skills
- Ethics and integrity
Zeynep ALPAY
Accounting & Finance Advisor
Zeynep graduated from Marmara Universtiy Faculty of Economics & Administrative Sciences. She has been working in accounting and finance departments of multinational companies such as Hoechst, Ciba, Huntsman for more than 20 years. She manages the financial missions, including all financial management, statutory accounting and reporting.
She enjoys taking street photos.
Strengths:
- Accounting
- Finances
- IRFS reporting
- Experience with international companies
Ayten ARSLAN
Accounting & Payroll Specialist
Ayten graduated from Dumlupınar University accounting and tax applications and completed his bachelor’s degree in business administration. Specialised in Accounting and Payroll. He also has experience in foreign trade: import, export and logistics.
Strengths:
- Accounting
- Administration
- Payroll management
- Import/Exportation specialisation
- Customer service-oriented
Derya YUZUGUR
Head of Procurement & Foreign trade Management
Derya graduated from I.T.U. Mining Engineering Department. He has been in business life for 25 years, the last 11 of which have been in the field of purchasing and supply chain. He has extensive experience in raw materials, consumables, machinery – equipment, administrative service procurement, machinery – vehicle rental, foreign trade operations and logistics.
Strengths:
- Procurement management
- Import and Export management
- Logistic management
- Sourcing expertise
- Foreign trade expertise
Ezgi CEYLAN
Executive & Back-Office Assistant
Ezgi supports the whole team as well as the staff of ERAI Turkey to facilitate the communication and also the administrative tasks of each and everyone within our offices. She is responsible for the daily activities of the office.
Strengths:
- Assistance onburda tem-site
- Business operations support
- Purchasing support
- Planning and organisation
Bora SOYLU
Senior Consultant in Industry
Bora has more than 15 years of experience in spare parts in the individual and commercial vehicles, generators, construction and agricultural machinery sectors. As an expert in retail, wholesale, reseller management and purchase, Bora has worked for Fiat Turkey, Turkey Ford and Agco (Massey Ferguson, Fendt, Valtra Laverda) before.
Strengths:
- Sectors expertise
Ferit Gokcen ERMAN
Lawyer & Legal Consultant
A graduate of the University of Istanbul, our legal advisor Gökçen has more than ten years of experience specialized in commercial law, tax law and administrative law. He has helped many companies with their legal issues during their establishment or merging with other companies’ processes. He is your legal counsel from your first step on.
Strengths:
- Legal Advice
- Business Law
Gonenc ATAKAN
Corporate Communication Management Consultant
Gönenç has experience in planning and developing the new generation of communications; plus crisis & issue management, and strategic media relations for the local and global brands. He has over 18 years of experience in the PR and comms industry, working for large Turkish and global PR agencies. Gonenc graduated from Kütahya Dumlupınar University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences – Sociology. He also gave lessons as a guest professor at Bilgi University & Kocaeli University. Nowadays, he focused on Communication Management Consultancy and C Level Comms on digital platforms, especially on LinkedIn.
Strengths:
• Digital Marketing
• Corporate Communication
• Crisis Management
• Media Relations
• Digital Entity Management on Social Media
• C Level Communication
Fatih VAROL
Head Of Digital Marketing
Our strategic partner specializing in marketing and digital marketing. IT solutions, web design, social media management and most importantly great dedication.