Leadership

Dr. A. Bülent Sabuncu

A. Bülent Sabuncu, born in 1969 in Mardin, completed his primary, secondary, and high school education in Ankara. In 1992, he graduated from the Department of Economics at the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences at Hacettepe University. In 1996, he earned a master’s degree with his thesis on Futures Trading from the same university. Sabuncu worked on the establishment of the Cotton Futures Market at the İzmir Commodity Exchange. In 1997, he was involved in the establishment of Oyak Portfolio Management Inc., Türkiye’s first portfolio management company, and in 1999, he took part in the founding of Global Portfolio Management Inc., where he served as a Board Member and Operations Director. During the same period, he also served as the General Manager of Atlas Securities Investment Trust Inc. and as a Fund Committee Member for six investment funds he helped establish.

In 2001, Sabuncu earned a Ph.D. with his thesis on Individual Retirement Funds. In 2002, he began working at Balnak Logistics Group, where he served as a Board Member and CFO until the company was sold in 2012.

Between March 2013 and May 2014, Dr. A. Bülent Sabuncu worked as the General Manager (Support Units) at Umur Printing Industry and Trade Inc. From 2014 to 2018, he served as the Executive Board Member and CFO at Flo Retailing and Marketing Inc. In 2019, he started working as the General Manager at Omsan Logistics Inc., a subsidiary of Oyak Group. In November 2019, he was appointed as the General Manager (Support Units) at Koton Retail Textile Industry Inc. Since October 2020, he has been serving as the CEO.

Sabuncu has participated in various educational programs at the London Business School and is fluent in English and Arabic. He is married and the father of a daughter.

İlkay Keskin

İlkay Keskin has more than twenty years of experience in the fashion and retail industry. She completed her undergraduate studies in Marketing at Bentley University between 1997–1999 and in Business Administration at Işık University between 1999–2001. She began her career in 2001 at Şahnur Tekstil as a Product Specialist. Between 2002 and 2003, she worked as Senior Product Manager at Comiteks Textile Products, where she was responsible for managing customer relationships in the UK market.

From 2004 to 2006, she served as Product Manager at Options Moda, managing the Italian, Spanish, and UK markets. Between 2006 and 2009, she worked as Foreign Trade Manager at Hong Kong–based Create Value Ltd., coordinating operations in China.

In 2009, Keskin joined Koton as Country Sourcing Manager, where she was responsible for managing Far East supply chains and developing new supplier relationships. Between 2013 and 2018, she served as Purchasing Manager and later Purchasing Director in the Womenswear department, leading collection development processes, market and trend analysis, and managing design, sales, and product management teams.

In 2018, she was appointed Deputy Chief Executive Officer – Brand (Chief Merchandising Officer – CMO), overseeing purchasing, product design and development, product portfolio management, and commercial strategies.

Mert Güneş Sönmezsoy

Mert Güneş Sönmezsoy has over 23 years of experience in national and international finance and auditing. After earning his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Istanbul University, he completed an MBA in Accounting and Finance at Yeditepe University.

He began his career in 1999 at Rumeli Telekom A.Ş. (Telsim) as a Financial Benchmarking and Research Analyst. Between 2000 and 2003, he worked as Senior Auditor at Mazars Denge, and from 2004 to 2020, he served at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), where he advanced to the position of Director.

He has been serving as Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Finance at the Company since March 2020.

Sebla Oran Palut

Sebla Oran Palut, who has been serving as Human Resources Director at the Company since November 2024, has over 25 years of national and international experience in human resources. She is a graduate of Mimar Sinan University, Department of Sociology. She began her career in 2000 at Garanti Bank and subsequently held roles in human resources, executive search, and consultancy across various sectors, including GSK, Adecco Search & Selection, and Iveco.

In 2007, she joined Coca-Cola İçecek, where she served as Turkey HR Business Partner, Global HR Manager, and in roles related to People Analytics and Organizational Design. During this period, she led key projects in leadership development, talent management, organizational transformation, strategic workforce planning, compensation, and employee relations.

Between 2021 and 2024, she worked at Hayat Kimya as Global Organizational Design, Total Rewards, and People Analytics Leader, playing a critical role in strengthening global HR infrastructure and implementing sustainable organizational models.

Metin Pekanlar

Metin Pekanlar has been serving as Planning Director at the Company since November 2017 and has approximately 23 years of experience in planning and business intelligence. He completed his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in Business Administration at Sakarya University.

He began his career at LC Waikiki, where he held various managerial roles in product planning and business intelligence for more than 14 years. During this period, he played active roles in process improvement, establishing centralized planning structures, and building analytical systems.

Onur Güven

Onur Güven, who joined the Company as Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Sales in December 2025, has approximately 27 years of leadership experience in fashion retail and fast-moving consumer goods sectors. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Dokuz Eylül University.

He began his career in 1998 at TEBA Foreign Trade as Sales Manager, where he was responsible for Latin American, Spanish, and Scandinavian markets. Between 2004 and 2008, he worked at Vestel International as Product Manager, leading product management and market development projects. From 2008 to 2010, he served at Midea Group as Sales and Marketing Director responsible for EMEA and Eastern Europe.

In 2010, he joined A101 New Retailing Inc., where he served as Regional General Manager between 2010 and 2015, managing operational growth and new store openings. Between 2015 and 2018, he served as General Manager/CEO at English Home, leading the brand’s strategic vision and growth objectives.

He later returned to A101 in 2018 as General Manager of Business Development, International Growth, and Strategic Planning. Between 2019 and 2025, he worked at Penti A.Ş. as Chief Operating Officer (COO), overseeing retail operations, e-commerce growth, and the implementation of omnichannel sales strategies.