Turgut Ziyal

Turgut Ziyal has been the Managing Partner at The Istanbul Consulting Company, since December 2010. The company offers full service support for foreign investors in Turkey. Prior to this, he served as the Chief Operating Officer for Gum and Sugar Confectionery Business Unit at Yildiz Holding , a global manufacturer and distributor of biscuits and chocolates over 110 countries and owner of Godiva and Ulker brands. In this role, Mr. Ziyal was responsible for management of operating companies, investment projects and partnerships in the unit. In addition, he initiated, managed and completed a 50/50 joint venture between Yildiz Holding and Gumlink of Denmark for manufacturing confectionery in Turkey for Euro-Asian markets. Previously, Mr. Ziyal served as the Managing Director and Board Member at Baycan A.S. of Ulker Group from April 2006 to December 2008, where he established a new distribution company dedicated to distribute gum and candy products within the Turkish market, acquired a Turkish licorice candy manufacturing plant to enlarge the product portfolio, and introduced new products, to improve production efficiency and to increase production quality levels. Prior to this, Mr. Ziyal served at Perfetti Van Melle, a leading player in the confectionery industry, from March 1990 to April 2006 at several senior management positions including, Managing Director and Board Vice Chairman, and Sales and Marketing Director and Board Member. He has over 30 years of experience in the Turkish food industry.

He is a founding partner and managing Director of Gri Pazarlama ve Ticaret A.S., a new company for e-business development projects.