Fatih Karahan was born in 1982 in Eskişehir and graduated from Boğaziçi University, Departments of Mathematics and Industrial Engineering in 2006. After earning a master's degree, he completed a Ph.D. in economics at the University of Pennsylvania in 2012. Mr. Karahan started his career as an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in 2012 and served as the Team Leader of Labor and Product Market Studies and also a monetary policy advisor at the Bank until 2022. He also taught as an adjunct professor at Columbia University and New York University. Then, Mr. Karahan became a senior economist at Amazon in 2022 and was appointed principal economist there in November 2022. Mr. Karahan, who had been acting as Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye since 28 July 2023, was appointed Governor on 3 February 2024.
Alexander M. Julius is the founder and managing partner of macroMETAL Handelsgesellschaft mbH, which has been servicing mainly European steel consumers with quality products since 1996 as a mill-independent supplier. He is president of Eurometal and active presidency member in various German committees linked to international trade & service. Since 2003 he has worked as a managing partner of the company Envitec Engineering GmbH with environmental technologies and regenerative energies as well as the construction of recycling plants.
Born in Istanbul in 1972, he has Italian and French heritage. After graduating from Pierre Loti French High School, he pursued higher education in econometrics and finance in France, at Aix-Marseille University and in Paris. In 1995, he started his business career at the French insurance company Groupama in Paris. He returned to Istanbul in 1997 and started his career in commodity trading with the US-headquartered company Cargill. From the end of 2003, he shifted his focus to the international trade of fossil fuels in the energy sector. These experiences allowed him to gain significant expertise in trading raw materials in fields such as agriculture, energy and metals, as well as in the related stock exchanges and derivatives markets, with a particular focus on risk management and hedging. In 2006, he joined Turkey's first private portfolio management company as a founding partner. He returned to the fossil fuel trading sector in 2010. After the publication of his book in 2017, he began offering much-needed consultancy on risk management, hedging and foreign trade to both corporations and individuals. One of his special interests and areas of expertise is Sébah & Joaillier, the most important photography studio of the Ottoman period, which is part of his family’s heritage. Owning a world-class collection, he has delivered presentations, organized exhibitions, and authored books on this subject. He is a full member of the audit committee of Galatasaray Sports Club for the 2024-26 period, having also served in the committee during the 2022-24 period. He is fluent in Turkish, French, and English. He has one daughter.
Fabrizio Di Gianni practices competition and trade law. He also assists clients on other aspects of EU law, including sanctions, free movement of goods and regulatory law, with a particular focus on the automotive and packaging industry. Fabrizio has decades of experience assisting a wide range of clients, including governments, industry associations, producers and importers in trade investigations. His practice covers investigations initiated both by the EU and by third countries. His expertise extends to trade-related matters involving the WTO. Fabrizio has a wealth of experience in advising clients on all aspects of EU and Italian competition law. Fabrizio regularly represents clients before the European Commission and the EU Court of Justice as well as the Italian Antitrust Authority and the Italian Civil and Administrative Courts (TAR and Consiglio di Stato). As a result, he is often involved in cases concerning the free movement of goods and services, where he normally advises undertakings complaining of Member States’ violations and represents clients’ interests before the Court of Justice, particularly in cases regarding transport. In the EU regulatory realm, his practice covers Green Deal and environmental matters, where he advises clients regarding, e.g., CO2 emissions, the single-use plastic directive, and waste shipment regulations. He is also particularly active in new and emerging areas of EU law, such as Foreign Subsidies, CBAM, Blocking Statute, and Anti-Coercion. In this respect, he advises clients on the possible implications of these forthcoming pieces of legislation and regularly speaks at conferences and workshops on their impact on the business community. He received his degrees in law at the University of Naples Federico II, the College of Europe, Bruges, and at Georgetown University, Washington, DC. He speaks Italian, English, French and Spanish.
Born in Diyarbakır in 1977, Fatih Keresteci completed his primary and secondary education in his hometown. He completed his undergraduate education in economics (English) at Marmara University and earned a master's degree in finance at the University of Birmingham. He is currently pursuing his doctorate at Marmara University Banking Institute. Having focused on "financial crises in emerging economies" during his education, he conducted detailed studies on "early warning systems" in this context, with his studies being published by reputable economics journals and constituting a reference for economic modelling. Mr. Keresteci began his career as an economist and has held various roles, including strategist, foreign exchange and derivatives trader, investment consultant, and treasury sales director at HSBC Bank. Most recently, he served as deputy assistant general manager in the global markets team. Since 2016, he is the owner of DNG Consulting, Research and Education Ltd., providing consultancy to large corporate companies in the fields of economy and finance, and board-level decision-making. He is a well-known specialist in financial risk management, financial investment consultancy, corporate and financial restructuring, M&A activities, investment feasibility consultancy, management strategy consultancy and financial education. Additionally, he shares his expertise in investment banking as a founding partner at Peninsula Corporate Finance. Outside of work, Mr. Keresteci is a father to twin daughters and a passionate Fenerbahçe fan.
Jaap Jan Aardenburg, Dutch, born 1964, is currently Head of Trade Affairs at Tata Steel Nederland, the leading Dutch steel producer, with an almost 30 year experience in various marketing, business and strategy development functions in steel. Coming from a steel family rooting back to 1918 , after 3 years in the military and finishing his study economics and marketing he started as account manager at Hoogovens, the predecessor of Tata Steel in the Netherlands. After his MBA graduation he made a sidestep of 8 years into space industry as Contracts Manager at Fokker Space before returning to Hoogovens in various Marketing and Strategy functions. These include the Packaging, Automotive and Industry sectors and central functions including Business Analyst to the CEO. Before moving in his current role he was marketing, business development and strategy manager of Tata Steel Distribution. He has been as well for over 20 years active at Eurofer we holds a.o. the vice-chairmanship of the flat steel trade group and more recently he joined the Presidium of EUROMETAL. He has always been very motivated by complex challenges and translating these into practical strategies and policies where understanding all interests and personal engagement is a key for success. His hobbies are tennis, pedaling and mountaineering.
Kaan Sarnıç was born in Istanbul in 1967. After completing his high school education at Haydarpaşa High School, he graduated from the Industrial Engineering Department of Yıldız Technical University in 1989. He started working at Kibar Holding in 1990 and assumed the roles of engineer and manager in the production, planning and sales departments. In 2012, he joined Assan Demir as deputy general manager. He has been steel service center director at Yücel Boru Profil since 2015. In this position, he is responsible for sales of almost all the different flat steel products consumed in Turkey. His major competencies are organization and business development. Sport is an essential part of his life: his hobbies include rowing, sailing, windsurfing and skiing. He is married and has one child.
Laurent Taylor is a Senior Steel Trader at Manuchar Steel, specializing in the expansion of European business opportunities for steel imports and growing the supplier base. With over a decade of experience in international steel trading, strategic procurement, and supply chain optimization, Laurent has been instrumental in driving market growth across Europe. Prior to joining Manuchar Steel, Laurent held key roles in leading European trading companies, including Pisec Group and Steelforce, where as Commercial Director Europe, he successfully doubled traded volumes and expanded the customer base. He also played a pivotal role in establishing a Polish steel trading company, acting as an agent for some of the world’s top steel traders across Northern and Eastern Europe.
Mehmet Ali Fincan, General Manager, Yametaş Flat Metal Products Since 2001, Mehmet Ali Fincan has been a key member of the management team at Yametaş, a company specializing in pipe-profile production and steel service center operations since 1966. After earning his degree in Economics from Istanbul University, Fincan gained experience in auditing and foreign trade across various companies. Since joining Yametaş, he has played a pivotal role in establishing two new companies: A Profil, which manufactures special-shaped profiles, and PDS Makina, which produces machinery and equipment for length cutting, slitting, and pipe-profile lines. Beyond his corporate responsibilities, Fincan is actively involved in industry organizations and non-governmental associations. He serves as a board member of YİSAD (Turkey’s Association of Flat Steel Exporters and Manufacturers) and ÇİB (Turkish Steel Exporters’ Association). Additionally, he is the chairman of the Iron and Steel Committee at İSO (Istanbul Chamber of Industry) and the deputy chairman of İAYOSB (Istanbul Anatolian Side Organized Industrial Zone).
Metin Tayfun was born in Istanbul in 1955. He completed his high school education in Virginia, US. In 1977, received his mechanical engineering degree, followed by a master’s degree in industrial engineering, both from Texas A&M University. His work experience covers 3.5 years at Amoco Production in Texas, two years at Çolakoğlu Metalürji, then 26 years at companies including Borusan Group, Monroe Shockabsorbers, Caterpillar and Mannesmann Pipe. In 2010, he joined Colakoglu Metalurji as the company switched its production from long products to mainly flat products. He is a founding member of both the Thrace Industrialists Association and of Turkey’s Construction Machinery Industry Association, and is a board member of the Automotive Suppliers Association of Turkey (TAYSAD). He is also the chairman of Turkey’s Association of Flat Steel Exporters and Manufacturers (YISAD).
After starting his career as a Mechanical Design Engineer at Aselsan, Tolga Yalgı worked as a Product Development Engineer at Ford Otosan. He then worked as an executive in critical procurement positions in Türkiye and Europe for 15 years at Toyota Motor Europe, playing an important role in the development of the Turkish automotive supply industry and its expansion into Europe. As Group General Manager at Rözmaş Çelik Sanayi which operates in the automotive supply industry, he led the lean transformation process of the company for 4.5 years. During this period, he also contributed to the development of the sector as a Board Member of the Association of Automotive Parts and Components Manufacturers (TAYSAD). Afterwards, he served as the Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) responsible for Commercial Functions and Project Management at Farplas Otomotiv, one of the strong players in the automotive supply industry, and played an active role in the company's globalization process. He currently continues to serve as the CEO at Tatmetal. Long after he completed his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Mechanical Engineering in METU, he successfully graduated from the Executive MBA program at Sabancı University. He is currently continueing his Ph.D. studies in Marketing at Gebze Technical University.
Ugur Usta holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics and a Master’s degree from the Executive MBA program at Bilkent University. He began his career in 2004 as an auditor at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Since 2005, he has continued his career at UMS Metal, where he currently serves as Deputy General Manager. Since 2022, he has also been the Co-Founder and CEO of UMS Metal USA, based in Chicago. With 21 years of experience in the auditing and steel industries, Usta is responsible for Sales & Procurement Management, Digitalization, Corporate Brand Management and Marketing Communication, Dealer/Distributor Management, Business Development in Northern Europe and the United States at UMS Metal. He is also a member of Turkish Industry and Business Association, Flat Steel Import and Industry Association, and the Steel Foreign Trade Association. Usta is married and has one child.
Mr. Yayan got B.A. degrees from Faculty of Political Sciences of Ankara University in 1977 and Faculty of Law of the Istanbul University in 1987. Then he got his PhD degree from the Istanbul University Faculty of Economics in 1997. Mr. Yayan has diplomas from University of Michigan on Economy of Development and Population; from the University of Sussex on Labor Market Information System and Japan Int. Coop. Agency on Development and improvement of Employment. Mr. Veysel Yayan started his career as Reporter at the Republic of Turkey, Ministry of Trade in 1976. Then he worked at State Planning Organization, as Expert and Undersecretariat of Defense Industries, as Head of Department, Deputy Undersecretary and Acting Undersecretary until he retired in 1998. After serving 22 years for government from expert to Undersecretary levels between 1976-1998, he was appointed as Secretary General to the Turkish Steel Producers Association in 1998. On 25 September 2017, Dr. Yayan was appointed as Undersecretary to Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology. In August 2018, Yayan retired from government and returned to his position as Secretary General of Turkish Steel Producers Association. In addition to this position, Dr. Yayan has been the President of TOBB Ferrous and Nonferrous Metals Assembly since 2007.
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