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.
Dr. Barış Esen is a graduate of the Department of International Relations at Istanbul University. He completed his master’s degree in Regional and Strategic Studies at Galatasaray University and earned his PhD from the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Istanbul University. He began his career in journalism and television broadcasting in 2004 at CNN Türk’s Foreign News Desk. From 2005 until early 2010, he worked at the SKY Türk news channel as a reporter, editor, and anchor. In 2010, he joined Bloomberg HT as part of its founding team, where he served as an anchor and editor. As of February 2023, Dr. Barış Esen has been continuing his professional career at Yatırım Finansman, holding the position of Corporate Communications Director.
Cosmin Bakai is Global Purchasing Director – Steel & Tubes, Raw Materials at Autoliv, based in Zug, Switzerland. He brings over 18 years of international experience in procurement and supply chain development within the automotive sector. His expertise covers supplier development, strategic sourcing, supply chain management and optimization, and raw materials management, particularly in steel and tube markets. At Autoliv, Cosmin leads global strategies for raw materials procurement across regions. He previously held various leadership roles, including Global Commodity Manager for Stamping, Metals & Steel. Cosmin has extensive experience in stakeholder management, cost analysis, and supplier development. He is highly skilled in APQP , ISO/TS 16949, and lifecycle cost analysis. He has successfully driven initiatives aligned with KPIs like multi-sourcing, strategy and tactics definition and implementation for Supply Chain Management across several regions. Cosmin holds a Bachelor’s degree in Construction Engineering from Universitatea Tehnică din Cluj-Napoca. He is known for his consensus-driven communication with strong-relationship building, strategic mindset, cross-functional collaboration, and strong negotiation skills.
Born in Antakya in 1968, Hakan Aran graduated from the Faculty of Engineering, Computer Engineering Department of the Middle East Technical University. He completed his master's degree in Business Administration at Başkent University and he is currently continuing his PhD in Banking at İstanbul Commerce University. Beginning his career at İşbank as a Software Specialist in 1990, Aran was appointed as the Head of Software Development Department in 2005. He was promoted to the position of Deputy Chief Executive responsible for operations, digital banking and technology in 2008 and took part in important transformation programs of the Bank. Appointed as İşbank's 17th Chief Executive Officer on 1 April 2021, Mr. Aran also serves as the Chairperson of Trakya Yatırım Holding A.Ş. and İşbank AG.
Lars Hillmann is a lawyer specialising in foreign trade compliance, with a strong focus on EU customs law, export control, sanctions, and the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). He advises both EU-based companies and international suppliers, guiding them through regulatory challenges and representing them before authorities and courts. Lars also supports businesses navigating embargoes and rapidly evolving legal frameworks impacting global supply chains. He previously worked in the renewable energy and M&A sectors, and has international experience from a legal placement in Nairobi. Lars studied law and economics in Bayreuth, where he also lectured in public commercial law. He works in German and English.
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).
Murat Eryılmaz was born in 1966 in Ankara. After completing his primary and secondary education at Ankara TED College, he graduated from the Faculty of Business Administration at Istanbul University. He later completed a master’s degree in International Business Management at Istanbul University’s Institute of Business Economics. He began his professional career in 1988 at Egesat A.Ş., the export company of Çukurova Çelik Endüstrisi A.Ş. He continued to work within the same group at Çukurova Dış Ticaret A.Ş. and later at Çukurova Çelik Endüstrisi A.Ş., where he was responsible for export operations until 1994. Between 1994 and 1997, he worked at Promeks Dış Ticaret. In 1997, he joined the Istanbul office of Cargill Ferrous International as a senior trader. From 1998 to 2000, he served as long products director at the company’s headquarters in the United States, and from 2000 to 2002 he held the position of general manager for the Europe and Middle East Regional Office in Istanbul. In 2002, he concluded his tenure at Cargill to establish SteelOrbis, where he has since been serving as general manager and a member of the board of directors.
Mr. Şant Manukyan graduated from İstanbul University Faculty of Business in English in 1997 and started his capital markets career as a fund manager in the same year. Mr. Manukyan completed his MBA at Cornell University Johnson Business School in 2002 and joined İş Investment as an Assistant Specialist in International Capital Markets Department. He was appointed as Manager in 2019 and as Director in 2021. Since January 2025, Mr. Manukyan has been serving as Deputy Chief Executive Officer responsible for International Equities & Derivatives Markets, Corporate Clients & Private Banking Business Development and Foreign Institutional Sales activities. Mr. Manukyan is also the Board Member of İş Dijital Varlık Teknolojileri A.Ş.
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 Middle East Technical University, he successfully graduated from the Executive MBA program at Sabancı University.
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