Board of Directors and Sub-Committees

Burak Orhun

Chairperson

Bachelor's Degree: Boğaziçi University, Department of Economics

Master's Degree: Finance at George Washington University, USA, and Business Administration at the University of Pennsylvania - Wharton Business School.

Burak Orhun began his professional career as a Financial Planning and Analysis Specialist at Mercedes-Benz Türk A.Ş. In the United States, he held various senior executive roles, including Finance Manager, Portfolio Management Director, Corporate Development Director, and Vice General Manager of Finance at Thomson Corporation (Reuters), CapitalOne Financial, and CadenceQuest, Inc. From 2009 to 2018, he played a key role in mergers and acquisitions at Oyak Group. Burak Orhun joined the Sabancı Group in 2018 as the Head of Strategy and Business Development at Sabancı Holding. He served as the President of the Building Materials Group at Sabancı Holding between May 2021 and April 2024, and in April 2024, he was appointed as the President of the Materials Technologies Group. In addition to his role at Akçansa, Orhun serves as the Chairperson of the Board at Kordsa, Afyon Çimento, Çimsa and as a Board Member at Teknosa.

Hakan Gürdal

Vice Chairperson of the Board of Directors

Bachelor's Degree: Yıldız Technical University, Department of Mechanical Engineering

Master's Degree: Istanbul University, Department of International Business

Hakan Gürdal began his career at Çanakkale Cement in 1992. In 1996, he was appointed as the Director of Strategy and Business Development at Akçansa, and in 1997, he assumed the role of Vice General Manager responsible for Trade. Since August 1, 2008, he has been serving as the General Manager of Akçansa. In 2016, he was appointed as a Member of the Executive Committee at Heidelberg Materials Group, overseeing the Africa and Mediterranean regions.

Şebnem Önder

Board Member

Bachelor's Degree: Ankara University, Faculty of Law

Şebnem Önder began practicing law in 1994 at White & Case LLP (Türkiye) and in 1999-2000 at the same firm's New York office. She was a partner in the same firm's Türkiye division from 2000 to 2014. She was employed by British American Tobacco (Türkiye & North Africa) in 2014 as the Legal Director. She has been the European Regional Head of Compliance since 2018. She became the head of Sabancı Holding's Legal, Risk, and Compliance Department in September 2022. In addition to her role at Akçansa, Şebnem Önder also serves as a Board Member at several Sabancı Group companies, including Brisa, Carrefoursa, Temsa Skoda Sabancı Transportation Vehicles, and Sabancı Building Solutions B.V.

René Aldach

Board Member

Bachelor's Degree: Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität, Department of Business Studies

René Aldach began his career at Heidelberg Materials in 2004. In 2015, he was appointed CFO of Cement Australia, a joint venture in Australia. In 2018, he expanded his responsibilities as CFO of Hanson and a Board Director of Hanson & Cement Australia, overseeing the financial operations of the entire Australian organization. Since September 2020, he has been responsible for all accounting, control, and reporting functions as the Group Director of Reporting, Control, and Consolidation at Heidelberg Materials Group. Since September 1, 2021, he has served as CFO of Heidelberg Materials, and from January 2024, he also oversees the company's operations in Australia.

Bülent Bozdoğan

Independent Director

Bachelor's Degree: Middle East Technical University, Department of Business Administration

In 1980, Bülent Bozdoğan started working with PwC as a senior auditor. He worked with Unilever Türkiye in a variety of managerial capacities from 1982 to 1991. He joined Brisa Bridgestone Tire Co. in October 1991 as Vice General Manager, in charge of Finance, Planning, and Control. He then continued his career as Global CFO and Vice General Manager at KordSA Global Inc. starting in January 2001. After serving as the Chief Audit Executive responsible for the audits of 20 different group companies within Sabancı Holding in 2009, he retired at the age of 62 in accordance with Sabancı Holding's internal regulations. In January 2018, he became the CEO of Dedeman Holding, where he was responsible for the Mining and Tourism businesses for two years, before concluding his tenure. Since July 2020, he has been serving as an Independent Board Member and Audit Chairperson at Borusan Mannesmann Boru Inc. He also assumed the role of Independent Board Member at Kordsa Indonesia in October 2020 and CarrefourSA in September 2021, positions he continues to hold.

Ali Aynacı

Independent Director

Bachelor's Degree: Boğaziçi University, Faculty of Business Administration

Ali Aynacı held various managerial positions at Sabancı Holding's affiliated companies from 1975 to 1986. From 1986 to 1991, he served as the General Manager of Çanakkale Çimento Ticaret A.Ş., and from 1991 to 2012, he was the CEO of Rota Liman Hizmetleri A.Ş. Between 2002 and 2013, he served as the Vice Chairperson of the Board at Star İhracat A.Ş., and from 2013 to 2015, he held the position of Chairperson of the Board at Seament Dış Ticaret A.Ş. Since 2015, Ali Aynacı has been continuing his role as the Chairperson of the Board at MERAY Dış Ticaret A.Ş.

Vecih Yılmaz

General Manager

Bachelor's Degree: Middle East Technical University, Department of Business Administration

Master's Degree: Galatasaray University, Financial Economics

Vecih Yılmaz graduated from the Middle East Technical University, Department of Business Administration in 2005, while simultaneously completing a minor in Political Science and Public Administration at the same university. In 2012, he earned his master’s degree in Financial Economics from Galatasaray University. He began his professional career in 2005 as an auditor at Deloitte. In 2009, he joined Sabancı Group, serving as Financial Planning, Analysis, and Investor Relations Manager at Sabancı Holding from 2009 to 2013, and as Financial Control and Risk Manager at Enerjisa Enerji from 2013 to 2015. Between 2015 and 2017, he held the positions of CFO at Assan Panel and Financial Affairs Director at Kibar Holding within Kibar Group. In 2017, Mr. Yılmaz rejoined Sabancı Group, where he served as Finance Director at Sabancı Holding between June 2017 and April 2019. During this period, he also held board memberships at Kordsa and Yünsa. From April 2019 to December 2022, he served as Vice General Manager of Finance and Financial Affairs at Çimsa. As of December 1, 2022, he has been appointed as the General Manager of Akçansa.

Ülgen Eryürek Aslan

Vice General Manager
Human Resources and Corporate Communications

Bachelor's Degree: Boğaziçi University, Department of Economics

Master's Degree: Marmara University, Faculty of Business Administration, Department of Accounting and Finance

Graduating from Boğaziçi University with a degree in Economics in 1998, she began her professional career as a Management Trainee in the Finance Group Presidency at Bayındır Holding. She later served as Budget Planning Chief at HEAŞ. In 2004, she completed her master’s degree in Finance and Accounting at Marmara University’s Faculty of Business Administration (English) and joined Akçansa Çimento A.Ş. in February 2004 as a Financial Reporting and Analysis Specialist. Since then, she has held various roles, including Financial Planning and Analysis Manager, Financial Planning, Analysis, Reporting, and Investor Relations Manager, Strategy and Business Development Manager, and Cement and Ready-Mix Concrete Sales Planning and Marketing Group Manager. As of February 1, 2023, she was appointed as Strategy and Corporate Performance Group Manager. Effective December 15, 2023, she has been serving as Akçansa’s Vice General Manager – Human Resources.

Ömer Sinan Genç

Vice General Manager
Operations*

Bachelor's Degree: Ege University, Chemical Engineering

Master's Degree: İzmir High Technology University, Chemical Engineering

Ömer Sinan Genç earned his undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering from Ege University and subsequently completed his master’s degree in Chemical Engineering at İzmir Institute of Technology. Since joining our company in 2007, he has held various roles, including Production Engineer at the Ladik Plant, Semi-Finished Products Chief at the Büyükçekmece Plant, Production Manager at the Büyükçekmece Plant, Ladik Plant Manager, and Çanakkale Plant Manager. As of January 1, 2025, Ömer Sinan Genç has been appointed as Vice General Manager of Operations at Akçansa.

* Mr. Gergely Borosi, who previously served as Vice General Manager of Operations, stepped down from his position as of December 25, 2024.

Thomas Gerstenhauer

Vice General Manager
Finance*

Bachelor's Degree: International Partnership of Business Schools (Reutlingen/London) European Business Management

Master's Degree: Friedrich Schiller Üniversitesi (Jena) Executive MBA

Thomas Gerstenhauer earned his bachelor's degree in European Business Administration from the International Partnership of Business Schools (Reutlingen/London) and completed the Executive MBA program at Friedrich Schiller University (Jena). He began his professional career in 1998 at Schroder Salomon Smith Barney in London, later undertaking assignments in Melbourne and New York. From September 2003 to 2007, he worked as Deputy Head of Leveraged Finance at HSH Nordbank. Between November 2007 and December 2009, he worked as Senior Vice President Investment Banking at Sal. Oppenheim Jr. & Cie. KgaA. From April 2011 to September 2014, he managed his own corporate finance advisory business and was a member of the creditors' committee for IVG Immobilien AG. In September 2014, he joined Heidelberg Materials as Finance Director and later served as CFO and Deputy General Manager of Mibau Stema Group. As of November 1, 2024, Thomas Gerstenhauer has been appointed as Vice General Manager of Finance at Akçansa.

* Mr. Jason South, who previously held the position of Vice General Manager of Finance, stepped down from his role as of November 1, 2024.

İlker Koç

Vice General Manager
Ready-Mix Concrete, Aggregates Sales & Marketing

Bachelor's Degree: Middle East Technical University, Department of Civil Engineering

Master's Degree: Sabancı University Business Administration (Executive MBA)

İlker Koç completed his undergraduate studies in Civil Engineering at Middle East Technical University and earned his Executive MBA degree from Sabancı University. He began his professional career in 1994 as a Site Engineer at Rizzani de Eccher and later served as a Site Manager at Astaldi and Sinta between 1995 and 1998. He joined Akçansa in September 1998 as a Specialist in the Marketing Planning and Sales departments. Between 2008 and 2012, he worked as a Senior Engineer at Heidelberg Cement Technology Center in Germany. Following this, he continued his career at Akçansa, holding positions such as Quality and R&D Manager, Marketing and Special Products Manager, and Technical Sales Support and Special Products Manager. From December 2020 to November 2021, he served as the Company Manager at Karçimsa. he served as the Company Manager at Karçimsa. As of December 1, 2021, İlker Koç has been appointed as Vice General Manager of Ready-Mix Concrete, Aggregates Sales, and Marketing at Akçansa.

Sinan İnaç

Vice General Manager
Procurement, Logistics and International Trade

Bachelor's Degree: Dokuz Eylul University Department of Business Administration (English program)

Sinan İnaç graduated from Dokuz Eylül University with a degree in Business Administration (English Program) in 1999. Sinan İnaç began his career at Çimentaş in 2003 and worked there as a Budget and Cost Control Specialist from 2003 to 2007, Planning, Budget and Control Chief from 2007 to 2011, Planning, Budget and Control Manager from 2011 to 2015, Strategy and Marketing Manager (Cement and Ready-Mix Concrete) from 2015 to 2017, Planning, Budget and Control Eastern Mediterranean Regional Leader from 2017 to 2019, and finally Planning, Budget and Control Director. Since 2019, he has held positions at Akçansa as Strategy and Business Development Manager and Strategy and Business Development Group Manager, respectively, and as of December 1, 2021, he was appointed Akçansa Assistant General Manager - Procurement and Logistics.

Akın Hasbay

Cement
Sales & Marketing Director

Bachelor's Degree: Dokuz Eylul University Department of Civil Engineering

Akın Hasbay earned his Civil Engineering degree from Dokuz Eylül University in 1999. He began his career as a Civil Engineer at Ülker İnşaat from 2000 to 2003. Between 2003 and 2017, he held various roles at Akçansa, including Customer Representative in İzmir, Ready-Mix Concrete Sales & Marketing Specialist in İzmir, Cement Sales Planning Specialist in İstanbul, Sales Supervisor for the Northern Region, Cement Marketing Officer, Ready-Mix Concrete Regional Manager for Eastern Marmara, and Cement Sales Regional Manager for Eastern Marmara. From 2017 to 2019, he served as Sales Director for Denizli Cement at Oyak Cement. Since 2019, he has continued his career at Akçansa, taking on roles such as Ready-Mix Concrete Regional Manager for Northern and Eastern Marmara and Cement Sales Group Manager. On June 26, 2024, Akın Hasbay was appointed as the Cement Sales and Marketing Director at Akçansa.