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Ayse Yenel - HSBC Turkey - Head of Wealth and Personal Banking
Ayse holds a BS Degree in Industrial Engineering from Lehigh University, USA. She started her career at BankOne / JPMorganChase in the US. After holding various positions in Credit Policy, Product Analytics and Strategy Management areas she resigned her role as Vice President of Decision Management / Credit Cards Business to move to Turkey. Ayse joined HSBC Turkey in 2004 to form the Retail Credit Policy team. She worked under the Risk Function in a number of roles for 10 years, including serving as Board member of HSBC Asset Management Company. Her last position in Risk was double hatting as Head of Retail Risk and Risk COO. In 2014, Ayse moved to RBWM as the RBWM COO for Turkey and has been appointed to the Head of RBWM Turkey Role in Jan 2017. Since then, she has been leading the WPB Business in Turkey and she is also the Deputy Chairperson of the Asset Management subsidiary in Turkey.
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Darco Akkaranfil - Burgan Bank - Executive Vice President, Information Technologies
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Enis Kurtoglu - QNB Finansbank - Consumer and Small Business Banking Executive Vice President
Mr. Kurtoglu graduated from Electrical and Electronics Engineering Department of Bogazici University in 1999, and completed his MBA in London Business School in 2006. He served in several managerial positions in marketing and sales at Citibank Turkey between 1999 and 2002, and in Citibank’s Europe, Middle East and Africa Regional Headquarters between 2002 and 2006. He worked as Marketing Director in Citibank Turkey between 2006 and 2010; he joined Finansbank A.S. as Group Manager in charge of Retail Products in 2010. He served as Mass Banking Director between 2012 and 2014 and as Director of Mass Banking and Direct Sales from 2014 to May 2015. He became Executive Vice President of Consumer Banking as of May 2015, and has been serving as Executive Vice President of Consumer and Small Business Banking as of January 2022.
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Gokay Dede - Alternatif Bank - Executive Vice President, Retail and Digital Banking
Gokay Dede graduated from Istanbul Technical University with a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematical Engineering, and has had over twenty years of experience predominantly in the financial sector, specializing in digital banking, business development, marketing, sales and innovation. Dede started his career at Interbank in 1998, taking part in the Bank’s MT programme until 2000, and continued at Dogus Holding in 2000-2001. In 2001, Dede took charge in Digital Channels Marketing and Digital Media at Garanti Bank. He served as Retail Sales and Digital Channels Director at Eureko Sigorta in 2008-2009. In 2009-2015, Dede took charge as Direct Banking Senior Vice President at Akbank, and as Managing Director at Starcom Publicis in 2018-2019. He later on served as Marketing, Product and Ad Business Director at Hopi. Dede joined the Alternatif Bank family as Retail and Digital Banking Marketing and Sales Executive Vice President in December 2020.
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Ozgur Bilgin - Aktiftech (A Subsidiary of Aktifbank) - General Manager
He graduated from Middle East Technical University, Electrical and Electronics Engineering Dept. in 1998 and completed MSc degree from Istanbul University, Electrical and Electronics Engineering Dept. in 2003. He has worked in Esbank IT, Verifone, Akbank IT, TEB IT as developer, analyst, technical lead, IT executive and consulting positions. Ozgur Bilgin now works as General Manager at AktifTech Technology which is the technology subsidiary of Aktifbank. Aktif Tech is a new technology company, with the understanding of bringing an innovative breath to payment, public transportation & ticketing systems softwares and the purpose is to provide high value added software solutions and end-to-end operation services. He has major expertise and background in payment systems and business development.
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Wouter Meijs - ING Turkey - Technology Executive Vice President
Completing his undergraduate and graduate education in the Netherlands and stepping into the ING family through the ING Talent Programme in 2006, Wouter Meijs held several managerial positions within the bank as well as senior executive roles in DevOps Delivery Centre, IT applications at ING in Australia and cloud services for ING. Meijs joined the ING in Turkey family as Technology Executive Vice President as of January 1, 2022.
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Artur Dabrowski - Comarch - Business Consultant
I have been a consultant at Comarch in the area of software for financial institutions for almost 4 years. I make sure to provide tailored solutions to customers' needs and expectations, and participate in the analysis of requirements or the changing business environment. I am eager to share my knowledge and experience on how to successfully use the latest technologies in banking. Previously, I worked for over 6 years as a relationship manager in the SME segment in Polish banks, mainly Raiffeisen Bank, successfully servicing large portfolios of SME and Corporate customers. In addition, I was involved in acquiring new customers as well as offering a wide range of business banking solutions – from handling current accounts and payments through working capital financing and factoring to multi-million dollar investments in machinery and warehouses.
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Alex Chapko - Piano Software - General Manager
Alex Chapko is a General Manager at Piano Software, overseeing company growth, partnerships, and client relationships across the Middle East, Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and India. Alex has been working with the Middle East market for over 10 years and has an extensive experience in digital marketing in the BFSI industry. Initially, as the CEO and co-founder of Newzmate - a content marketing cloud acquired by Piano in 2018 and today, he works alongside hundreds of brands across 30 countries, helping them identify and implement the necessary strategies and technology stack to improve customers’ understanding, loyalty, and lifetime value.
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Ali Cakiroglu - UPT Payment Services and E-Money (A Subsidiary of Aktifbank) - CTO
Ali Cakiroglu graduated from Ege University Computer Engineering Department in 2000 and has over 23 years of experience in Information Technologies department of financial institutions. After starting his career as a Software Specialist at T. Isbank in 2000, he continued at Akbank in 2008. Cakiroglu managed different projects and teams on digital channels, call center, branch, innovation , fintech integration and open banking. As of October 2021, Ali Cakiroglu started to work as CTO at UPT Payment Services and E-Money and he is responsible of IT infrastructure of international money transfer and payment platform. With UPT platform, It is possible to send or receive money to/from bank account, credit card or name, either domestically or internationally, in multiple currencies on UPT branch and UPTION Mobile.
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Aslihan Candir - Neova Insurance - EVP, Technology and Innovation
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Aziz Kose - NEOHUB (A Subsidiary of DenizBank) - Chief Innovation & Ecosystem Officer
Aziz Kose is a graduate of the Department of Mathematics from Middle East Technical University and has an MBA degree from Bahcesehir University. Starting his career as a Project Planner and Analyst at Motorola in 2007, Kose worked as Implementation and Maintenance Specialist at Turkcell and then as Projects and Planning Director at Topaz Telekom in 2008. He is Project Management Professional (PMP) and Professional Scrum Master (PSM). In 2014 and 2015, he served as the Co-Founder of Tagvance Media and ArgosAI ventures. Kose, who started his career at DenizBank as the Head of Open Innovation & Ecosystem Banking in 2018, has been serving as Executive Board Member at Deniz Ventures and the Chief Innovation & Ecosystem Officer of DenizBank's subsidiary NEOHUB since July 2021.
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Berrak Yenal - Intertech (A Subsidiary of Denizbank) - Executive Vice President
Berrak Yenal works as Executive Vice President at Intertech a subsidiary of Denizbank - Emirates NBD group in Turkey. Responsible for Retail Banking, SME, Commercial Loans and Credit Risk software development at Intertech, which has 54 financial corporate customers including 35 banks in 11 different countries around the world. Works towards the goal of building a strong team spirit and collaboration with an Agile mindset. Skilled in delivering successful products and services by focusing efforts on creating business value and has experience to lead large software development groups. Drives the transformation of the organization, utilize new technologies and adopts practices Agile, Micro-Services, and DevSecOps. She has over 22 years of software development and implementation experience in banking and finance industry, and has worked at MSM- Iktisat Bank - group, Denizbank and Intertech. Mrs.Yenal graduated from the University of Istanbul in Turkey with a Bachelor of Computer Science Engineering, also completed the Oxford University Executive Leadership program.
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Bilal Turkmen - Turkiye Sigorta - Executive Vice President, Strategy, Marketing & Digital
Bilal Turkmen, a seasoned professional in the insurance and pension sector, currently holds the position of EVP for Strategy, Marketing & Digital at Turkiye Sigorta and Turkiye Hayat Emeklilik. He has driven digital transformation strategies with a focus on aligning implementation with business goals, adopting a holistic approach across capabilities, data, and processes. With experience in both the government and private sectors, Turkmen has worked at the General Directorate of Insurance in Turkish Treasury, providing him with unique insights. His accomplishments include the development of the "first super app of insurance and pension" and leading the merger project of six state-bank-owned insurance and life & pension companies. He holds a Master's degree in Executive MBA from Sabanci University and a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Akdeniz University.
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Darko Jovisic - Robotiq.ai - CEO
Darko Jovisic is CEO and co-founder of Robotiq.ai and for the last 15 years Darko has been consulting clients and implementing IT solutions. He has worked in multiple roles from development, sales, and consulting and deployed hundreds of digital workers for banks such as UniCredit and OTP. Before Robotiq.ai he worked in Microsoft in different roles, from developer relations to enterprise pre-sales.
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Erkan Dervis - Fibabanka - Director of Digital Channels
Erkan is the Director of Digital Channels in Fibabanka. Responsible for Internet and Mobile Banking Department, Call Center Platforms Department and CRM Technologies Department. Skilled at leading Digital Transformation of banking digital channels, Platform Banking, SuperApp, Open Banking, Payment Systems, and IT Transformation. In addition to more than 20 years of programming experience, he worked as software engineer, software architect and middle-high management positions in his 15 years of professional business life. Before Fibabanka, worked at Ziraat Bank, Turkey Is Bank / Softtech, Meteksan and Dogan Holding companies. Took key roles in major software development, IT transformation projects and business process improvements. Graduate from the Eastern Mediterranean University with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering, in addition, holds a MBA Degree from Bilgi University.
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Hakan Kantas - Halkbank - Information Technology Director
He started his professional career in 1993 in the IT department of Pamukbank. He was the CIO of Vaillant Group in 2007-2008. He has been working for Halkbank since 2008. He created IT Risk Management Methodology as the first bank in Turkey, he led CSI (Continual Service Improvement) projects that delivered comprehensive innovative transformations to implement global best practices in IT through service-oriented approach and IT process model. Currently, he is the Director of IT Continuity Management Department and he's responsible from following areas; Operational Resilience, IT Continuity Management, Disaster Recovery, Crisis Management, IT Capacity and Performance Management, Data Management and KVKK. He is a member of ISACA (Gold Member), IEEE Professional Member, Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Member, The Informatics Association of Turkey (TBD), Information Technology Association (BiTekDer) Member and Business Continuity Institute (BCI) Member and a former Board Member of itSMF-Turkey Chapter.
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Itir Aydogan - Yapi Kredi Bank - Strategic Business Development and Innovation Director
Itir Urunay Aydogan, Strategic Business Development and Innovation Director at Yapi Kredi, where she currently leads new digital business and ecosystem development activities. Prior to joining Yapi Kredi, she worked at Garanti BBVA Bank for more than 10 years in Retail Digital Banking where she held several positions as a Digital Strategy Manager and Digital Product & Business Development Manager. Born in 1983, Itir holds a M.S. degree from London School of Economics (LSE) and a B.S. from Sabanci University.
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Kaan Konak - Aksigorta - Technology & Operational Excellence Assistant General Manager
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Kadir Yuceer - IHS Teknoloji - CEO
Kadir Yuceer is the CEO of IHS Teknoloji. He has a bachelor’s degree in computer science and engineering from Istanbul Yeditepe University and an Executive MBA degree from Sabanci University. He started as a software developer and switched to corporate services business at IHS Teknoloji in 2012 in the first years of his career. He implemented fraud detection and prevention solutions for Turkey's top banks and advised fraud teams on local/global fraud trends, fraud detection capabilities and new technologies in the fraud prevention market. After 4 years of experience as a fraud and security engineer, he dedicated himself to growing his corporate services department and was appointed Director of Corporate Services in 2016. In September 2020 he was appointed as the CEO. Under his leadership, IHS Teknoloji keeps growing to become one of the leading technology providers locally and globally.
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Levent Yildirmak - ING Turkey - Technology Director, Business Banking, Wholesale Banking & Risk
Oversees & drives the roadmap of Technology in Business Banking, Wholesale Banking & Risk domains. Leading critical change initiatives and technologies by focusing on developing flexible, scalable, efficient solutions reducing SG&A and increasing EBITDA. Tech leader with high achievements in leveraging digital technology to drive business growth, personal productivity, performance, profitability and expanding intellectual property capital. A thought leader, a change motivator, strategic thinker and strong partnership builder. Diverse experience 25 years in high-growth multinational companies with extensive knowledge in Technology & Banking.
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Mehmet Butun - Vakif Participation Bank - CIO
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Remzi Soral - Turkish Economy Bank - Digital Banking Channel Development Director
Remzi Soral graduated from Bogazici University, Management Information System in 2001 and completed MSc degree from Bogazici University, Engineering and Technology Management in 2004. After 15 years experience at TEB as a business analyst since 2018 he is responsible from TEB Digital Banking Channels. Digital banking strategy creation: Creation and implementation of TEB’s digital banking strategy, including CEPTETEB (pure digital banking solution) and cross-functional digital banking needs (i.e. Trading App (Pratik Borsa) with investment teams. Channel and business management: Day to day channel management of all digital banking tools (i.e. mobile banking, internet banking, all apss and new banking techs). New technologies and innovation: Creation of new partnerships with tech providers, fintechs and startups as well as managing existing relationships with big tech. companies i.e. Apple, Google, Samsung, GSM operators to generate new solutions and tools for digital banking. User experience: Testing existing channels’ user experience and update them according customer needs. Next generation digital banking: Creating long term digital banking strategy alongside with the upper Management.
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Rifat Deregozu - Fibabanka - Information Security, Governance and Compliance Director
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Tolga Macit Gusar - TEB - Private Banking, Investment Services and Business Development Group Director
As a Group Director in TEB (BNP Paribas JV) Tolga heads; Private Banking and Wealth Management, Retail Group Strategy, Retail Group Business Analysis & Budget and Compliance, Investment Services and Branch Format & Planning of the Bank. He is also a Board Member in TEB Yatirim. Tolga, headed Retail Sales & Contact Center as a Group Director in TEB before his current responsibilities. Prior to joining TEB as a Director of Private Banking Sales; Tolga led the Business Strategy, Research and Sales of Garanti Asset Management (BBVA Group) as an EVP in Istanbul. Before that he was a Fund and Portfolio Manager heading the related departments in Garanti Asset Management. Tolga earned an MBA from Yeditepe University and a BA from Bosphorus University in Istanbul. He continues his PhD in Accounting and Audit in Istanbul Aydin University. He is a member of BUMED (Bosphorus University Alumnis Association) and a member of congress in Galatasaray Sports Club.
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Turker Tunbis - ICBC Turkey Bank - Managing Director of Digital Banking Department
He completed his undergraduate education on Economy and his graduate study on Business Administration. After working as a DJ and voice-over professionally for 5 years, he started to work in banking sector in 2001. During his banking career, he worked on various departments like call center, credit allocation, project management, digital channels management. He has focused on customer experience, usability and software development in the past few years. As the Managing Director of Digital Banking he is responsible from all digital channels of the bank including call center and branch network management.
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Yesim Calidag - Fibabanka - Director of Technology Strategy and Operational Excellence
Supervises the Agile Delivery & DevOps, Operational Excellence & Service Management Processes, CIO Office, test & quality, robotic process automation and enterprise architecture units. Owns and leads the digital transformation programme of Fibabanka in agile delivery, robust operations and operational excellence. Builds mechanisms to enhance strategic value of IT. Sets the strategy and roadmap to achieve excellence in technology delivery utilizing agile processes and practices. Leads the development and continuous improvement of all ITSM processes and Agile Software Development (SDLC/DevOps) in IT, working closely with the development and infrastructure teams. Leads the enterprise process improvements and development of process automations through designing, developing, testing and maintaining processes through Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and enhanced workflow automation platforms. Leads the design and implementation of a logging, monitoring, analysis and reporting structure to create visibility of IT in order to get insights for strategic planning risk and performance, including teams, infrastructure and applications. Sets the testing and automation strategy, standards and guidelines for the organization in line with best practices; ensures that each software product released is tested according to the standards. Responsible for financial management and budgeting and supports risk and overall compliance of IT.
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Aykut Sahin - Yapi Kredi Bank - External Abuse Prevention Manager
Aykut Sahin started his career at Akbank after graduated from Istanbul University Business Administration in 2008. He has 15 years of experience in banking sector, and has been working in Yapi Kredi for 6 years. He took part in the holistic fraud monitoring team in his career at Yapi Kredi. He takes part in security assessments of bank projects and representing the bank in institutions such as Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency, Banks Association of Turkey, and The Interbank Card Center. He took active role in the preparation of the training program prepared by the Banks Association of Turkey last year. Currently, he continues his career as External Abuse Prevention Manager at Yapi Kredi for 3 months.
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Can Us - Odeabank - Digital Services Tribe Lead
With over 15 years of experience in financial services and technology management, Can has spearheaded Odea’s recent transformational journey by becoming the bank’s first Tribe Lead in 2021. Since 2018, Can has led online, mobile, ATM and self service banking as Head of Digital Services with the aim of exceeding Odea’s ambitious growth targets, and enhancing its reputation for innovation and customer service. Prior to this role, Can headed up Odea’s Digital Banking and Payment Systems Solutions, looking after program management and business analysis teams to advertently build and grow a greenfield bank - reputedly the first new player to enter the competitive Turkish market in over two decades. He moved to Istanbul for Odeabank during its inception days in 2013 from a Fortune 500 company, Capital One, headquartered in McLean, Virginia, where he started his career and held variety of roles in his 7-year tenure - as process manager, unit manager and business analyst. Throughout his career, Can has sought out roles that are customer centric and enjoys leading large teams through change and helping people develop themselves and achieve their potential. Can holds a BSc in Industrial Engineering and a MSc in Engineering Management from the University of South Florida along with a Graduate Certificate in Strategic Leadership from Harvard Business School.
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Cevat Oke - ING Turkey - Head of Information Risk Management
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Emre Olcer - Is Bank - Digital Banking Division Head
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Gokhan Egri - Akbank - Vice President, Mobile Banking & Mobile Apps
Gokhan graduated from both the Electronics and Computer Engineering departments. He also holds a Master's and Doctorate degree in Computer Engineering. Gokhan gained valuable experience working on start-ups and agencies before dedicating the past 10 years to developing Akbank Mobile. He is currently working as the Vice President responsible for Akbank Mobile. Gokhan remains curious and continues to conduct research and experiments in the digital world.
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Kagan Aydinyuz - AgeSA - Group Head of Software Engineering
Kagan Aydınyuz is a seasoned professional in the financial technology sector, with a wealth of experience driving innovative solutions and strategies for companies across the industry. As an accomplished leader, Kagan has an impressive track record in managing successful teams and projects, consistently delivering results that drive business growth and digital transformation. Currently, Kagan Aydınyüz serves as the Group Head of Software Engineering at AgeSA, where he oversees the development and implementation of cutting-edge technology solutions and legacy transformation. With over a decade of experience, he has held various key roles in the industry, including management positions at top financial institutions. Kagan's expertise in enterprise architecture and software engineering has played a crucial role in the deployment of many groundbreaking products and services. He has successfully fostered strong partnerships and ensured the seamless integration of innovative technologies within the organizations to which he has contributed.
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Levent Kazim Oguz - Denizbank - Senior Vice President, Digital Channels and Open Banking
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Michal Holenia - HID Global - Director of Sales for Europe & LATAM and Global Business Development
Michal Holenia is a Director of Sales and Global Business Development at HID Global in the area of IAM and Consumer Authentication. He has over 25 years of experience in the fields of security, IT infrastructure and Data Center Solutions for large organizations across multiple industries worldwide. In his current role, Michal leads a team that advise banks and financial services providers on how to offer innovative and engaging consumer facing solutions. He has a master’s degree microelectronics engineering and has obtained several certifications such as Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE), and a Certified Data Center Design Professional (CDCDP). Michal is also proficient in multiple languages, he speaks Slovak, Hungarian, English, French, Russian and has a master’s degree in German language.
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Murat Samet Kucuk - Borsa Istanbul - Information Security Service Manager
After graduating from Trakya University Computer Engineering Department in 2014 and started his career in information security. He gained expertise in information security by working in various positions at companies such as Avea Communication Services, Turk Telekom, Turk Ekonomi Bankasi, Intertech, Halkbank, and Borsa Istanbul. He completed his master's degree in Cyber Security at Marmara University in 2022, further advancing his knowledge and expertise. He currently works as Information Security Service Manager at Borsa Istanbul A.S. Murat keeps up with the latest developments in cybersecurity and information security, and continuously improves himself in this field.
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Nedim Kaya - Halkbank - Information Security System Manager
Graduated from ITU Computer Engineering at 2003. Started his career at Denizbank-Intertech between 2003-2005 as network security engineer. After that worked at Halkbank since 2005 in different positions including Network Security, Incident Response , Pentesting Teams as Senior Specialist and Team Leader. Currently working as Information Security Systems Manager at Halkbank for 2 years.
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Nihan Namoglu Cengiz - AgeSA - CISO
Nihan N. Cengiz holds an Electrical Engineering degree from Yildiz Technical University and MSc degree from Bogazici University. She has worked in various positions including Information Security, IT Security and Architecture, S-SDLC, ISO27001 Auditing, Security Compliance and Risk Management activities at companies like Vodafone Turkey, Turkcell Global Bilgi and NORTEL NETAS. She is currently working as CISO for AgeSa Life and Pension. She is motivated by the mission to increase security awareness.
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Okan Acar - Kuveyt Turk Participation Bank - Head of Digital Banking Group
Okan has 21 years of banking experience in several departments including Credit Analysis, Product Development, Retail Marketing, SME Marketing, Digital Marketing, Digital Transformation and Private Banking. He also taught undergraduate courses at private universities for 3 semesters. He has a PhD in Finance at Istanbul University. In addition, he has an advanced CMB license, credit and corporate rating licenses and a BES certificate. Since October-2020, he has been working in the digital banking group of Kuveyt Turk.
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Sadik Bas - Garanti BBVA Bank - Head of Retail Banking Segment Management
Sadik Bas graduated from Yildız Technical University, Department of Industrial Engineering in 2007 and completed his Master of Business Administration (Executive MBA) from Istanbul Technical University, Faculty of Business Administration in 2018. After working in Dogus Automotive Investor Relations, he moved to Garanti BBVA and held various positions for about 15 years. Currently, he is responsible for Affluent segment customers’ marketing activities at retail banking. He has major expertise and background in marketing management, business development, and sales management by particularly focusing on advanced analytics such as AI, machine learning and algorithms. He has passion for innovative marketing ideas, creating seamless customer experiences and creating autonomous teams for excellent work outcomes.
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Ozer Gulce - Alternatifbank - Head of Information Security Management
He was born in 1971 in Bursa. He completed his B.Sc and M.Sc at Istanbul Technical University. His career, which started in the IT sector in 1993, still continues as Head of Information Security Management at Alternatifbank. Mr. Gulce worked at TSKB, OBASE and SDLC and held active positions in the sector in the fields of information security, information technology governance, software development, system management, decision support systems, primary control and audit activities.
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Ozgur Sonmezer - Intesa Sanpaolo - Information Security Officer
The Information Security Officer role for Intesa SanPaolo Bank defines the Information Security and Cybersecurity objectives for the Information Security Program and monitors compliance with such objectives. The ISO operates in strict cooperation with the Head Office, so to direct the planning, development, implementation and monitoring of security for enterprise information systems.
The ISO also develops and implements security training and awareness programs to educate employees about information security and cybersecurity solutions and requirements.
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Selim Tastan - Kuveyt Turk Participation Bank - Head of Digital Transformation and Innovation
Selim Tastan began his banking career in Turkey in 2005 when he started working in IT department at Kuveyt Turk Participation Bank having different roles, Quality and Project Manager until 2013. He worked as the head of IT at KT Bank AG in Frankfurt, Germany until 2017. He came back to Turkey and continued his career as the Application Management Manager in Kuveyt Turk's IT Group. Dr. Tastan has been working as Head of Digital Transformation and Innovation in Strategy Sector since 2018. After graduating from the University of Arkansas with a degree in Computer Information Systems, he completed his MBA at the University of Texas in 2005. He completed his PhD in Business Administration at Halic University. In his doctoral thesis, he conducted his study on Economic and Technological Determinants of New Entrepreneurs Emerging in the Global Financial Technology (Fintech) Sector.
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Selma Yaldiz - Quick Finans - System Development Director