There is a reason why we are addressing the theme of 13th People Make the Brand under the title FROM EPILOGUE TO PROLOGUE!
A prologue signifies that everything that has happened up until now—including what is captured in a story’s foreword—lays the foundation for what is yet to come. The past serves as a basis for the present and the future alike. This is precisely why Shakespeare referred to the past as a prologue.
At People Make the Brand 2025, we invite all our stakeholders to co-write the foreword of the future. We propose that what we’ve learned from the past can be used to understand the present and shape what lies ahead. We call on all participants to think critically, creatively, and deconstructively about the future.

Dr. Behice Ece İlhan
Cultural Strategist & Digital Transformation Advisor | Human-Centered Tech Leadership | Consumer Culture Scholar
Dr. Behice Ece İlhan is a visionary culture strategist and thought leader at the intersection of technology, human behavior, and business transformation. She has served as Culture Strategy Director at Deloitte Digital and Senior Trend Strategist & Brand Futurist at Mintel, guiding global leaders through major periods of change and helping grow their businesses. Holding a PhD in Business from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Dr. İlhan’s research focuses on consumer culture, transmedia engagement, and cultural branding, and she continues to shape future leaders as a Visiting Lecturer at DePaul University. Her expertise in human-centered digital transformation and strategic foresight enables organizations to develop innovative, value-driven solutions in fast-changing markets.

Engin Aksoy
CEO, Vodafone Turkey
Engin Aksoy joined Vodafone Turkey in 2008. Having held multiple senior executive positions, Aksoy became an Executive Committee member in 2012 and worked as Vodafone Business Unit Director and Consumer Business Unit Director, respectively. He was appointed CEO of Vodafone Turkey on February, 2021.
Prior to joining Vodafone Turkey, Aksoy was an Executive Committee member for Nike Turkey from 2000 to 2006. He held the position of Sales Director for Europe, Middle East and Africa in Nike B.V. EMEA from 2006 to 2008. He began his career in Coca-Cola Icecek in 1994. He went on to work for Michelin as Regional Sales Manager from 1997 to 2000.
Aksoy is currently the Chairperson of YASED (International Investors Association), a board member of M-TOD (Mobile Telecom Operators Association), Endeavour Turkey and a member of TUSIAD (Turkish Industry and Business Association).
Aksoy holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from Istanbul University and a marketing degree from Oxford Business College and Exponential Growth degree from Singularity University.

Ercüment Büyükşener
Digital Marketing and Communications Consultant, Lecturer
Ercüment Büyükşener provided project consultancy in the field of digital communication to leading companies in his sector until 2005. Starting his internet entrepreneurship in 2006, Büyükşener established the VAIO Turkey brand independently from SONY and had it accepted by SONY Europe in 2007, with his project serving as an example for 21 countries.
In addition to his entrepreneurial journey, Büyükşener provides Digital Communication and Marketing, Digital Transformation, and Digital Efficiency Consulting services to PR and advertising agencies and brands in the field of digital communication under the Hayal Akademisi brand, which he founded in 2003. Many projects in which Büyükşener has served as Digital Communication Consultant or Director to date have received international awards.
Ercüment Büyükşener taught Social Media and Digital Communication at Istanbul Bilgi University and Kadir Has University between 2011 and 2020.
He is currently an instructor in the IAB Digital Marketing Certification Program at Boğaziçi University BÜYEM, while also providing training and seminars on current topics in the digital world, such as Digital Marketing - Digital Branding - Blockchain & Cryptocurrencies - Metaverse & NFT.

Prof. Dr. Evren Balta
Faculty Member, Department of International Relations, Özyeğin University & Academic Coordinator, TÜSİAD Global Politics Forum
Prof. Dr. Evren Balta is a faculty member at Özyeğin University’s Department of International Relations. Her research focuses on the intersections of democracy, citizenship, domestic politics, and international affairs. She is the author of The American Passport in Turkey (recipient of the 2021 ASA Award) and The Age of Uneasiness, among several other publications on Turkish politics and security. She has held visiting positions at Harvard, Columbia, NYU, and the Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) in Vienna, and currently serves as a Non-Resident Scholar at the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C. She is also a regular columnist for T24 and the Academic Coordinator of TÜSİAD’s Global Politics Forum.

Francesco Buquicchio
Global CEO, Egon Zehnder
Francesco Buquicchio is Egon Zehnder's Global Chief Executive Officer. Based in Zurich, he is a trusted advisor to CEOs and family shareholders on a wide range of leadership issues. He has a deep expertise in board effectiveness, leadership development and leadership succession planning, advising clients in a number of industries, including O&G, technology, telecom and services. Passionate about family owned companies, he serves families, owners, and managers in navigating the challenges of leadership, succession, and governance across generations. Francesco honed his management expertise while working in the telecommunications industry.
Before joining Egon Zehnder, he served as Director of Customer Operations at British Telecom Italy. He also worked as Sales & Marketing Director at the same company. Previously, he was an Engagement Manager with McKinsey & Company, and an Associate with TLcom Capital Partners in London, where he worked on M&A deals in the telecommunications and high-tech space in Europe and the U.S.
Francesco earned an MSc in Business Administration from Bocconi University and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Hakan Aran
Chief Executive Officer, Türkiye İş Bankası
Mr. 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, Mr. 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 the Credit Committee, Human Resources Committee and Information Technology Strategy Committee, Information Security Committee and as member of the Risk Committee and Operational Risk Committee.
In addition to his duties at the Bank, Mr. Aran serves as the Chairperson of Trakya Yatırım Holding A.Ş., İşbank AG and TSKB.

Dr. İzel Levi Coşkun
CEO, Mazars Denge
Dr. İzel Levi Coşkun was born in 1973 in Istanbul. He studied at the University of Istanbul, English Faculty of Business Administration, and received his master's degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. He completed his doctorate at the Marmara University in 2013 by completing his thesis on “From the Turkish Consumer’s Perspective, the Relationship Between Corporate Sustainability Components and Brand Equity Components”. He has worked at Forvis Mazars Türkiye since 1992 and is currently their CEO and Corporate Sustainability Ambassador. He serves on the boards of the Turkish Industry and Business Association (TUSIAD), the Business for Goals (B4G) Platform and the Turkey Informatics Foundation (TBV). He has active roles in many NGOs and civil associations such as the Marine Life Protection Association (DYK), Buğday, Endeavor, Young Executive Businessperson’s Association (GYIAD), the Association for the Protection of Cultural Heritage (KMKD), The Turkish Family Business Association (TAIDER), The Turkish Association of Certified Public Accountants and Certified Public Accountants (TURMOB).

M. Serdar Kuzuloğlu
Technology Columnist & Trend Hunter
Serdar Kuzuloğlu is a prominent figure in media and technology, with a career spanning leadership, entrepreneurship, investment, and consulting across numerous digital projects. He has written for major newspapers such as Posta, Milliyet, Cumhuriyet, and Oksijen, and produced radio and TV programs for outlets including NTV Radio and TRT. As Director of New Generation Services at Doğan TV Holding, he shaped the group’s digital strategies, while founding pioneering platforms such as Televidyon and Alkışlarla Yaşıyorum. He currently writes columns for Oksijen, publishes the weekly newsletter Dünya Halleri, inspires a wide audience with his podcast Haddini Aşan Yaşam Rehberi, and participates as a professional speaker in corporate events.

Prof. Dr. Muhammed Şahin
Rector, MEF University
Professor Sahin graduated from the Geomatics Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Istanbul Technical University (ITU) in 1987, with the highest grades. Professor Sahin received his master's degree from University College London in 1991, and his PhD degree from University of Newcastle in 1994. He became an assistant professor in 1994, an associate professor in 1998 and a tenured Professor in 2002 at ITU. He was a short-term visiting fellow at Graz Technical University in 1997 and at Berlin Technical University in 2000.
Professor Sahin was appointed as the Rector of Istanbul Technical University on August 6th, 2008 and his tenure ended on August 6th, 2012. In 2009, Prof. Sahin was the first and only rector from Turkey to be elected as a member of the Board of Directors of CESAER (Conference of European Schools for Advanced Engineering Education and Research), based in Belgium and including the most prominent engineering universities in Europe. In February 2012, Professor Sahin was nominated and elected unanimously to the four-member Executive Board of CESAER on account of the contributions he had made to “Research and Strategy Management at Universities”.
Professor Sahin is the founding rector of MEF University, the first fully and only university in the world established entirely based on the flipped learning methodology. He has held this position since March 2013. He is also a member of the Board of MEF Schools.

Murat Yeşildere
İstanbul Office Leader, Egon Zehnder
Murat Yesildere, based in Istanbul, provides a full range of services from executive search and board consulting to management appraisals, serving clients across a variety of industries and functions. Deeply experienced in talent management and leadership assessments, Murat is also passionate about diversity and inclusion.
Prior to joining Egon Zehnder in 2000, Murat primarily worked in the banking sector. He was a Country Manager at CDI-Erste Bank, based in Istanbul, and earlier established the largest private mutual fund to serve a community of clothing and textile manufacturers. Other previous employers included GSD Investment Bank, K Leasing & Factoring, and Philip Morris International.
Murat earned a BS in Industrial Engineering from Boğaziçi University in Istanbul and an MSc in Business Economics from the University of Manchester’s Institute of Science & Technology. He serves on the board of PERYON, the national HR association of Turkey, as well as in the Turkish chapters of International Board Ready Women and the Professional Women’s Network. Murat is also a regular columnist for the monthly “Platin” magazine, writing about business, leadership, governance, diversity, and sports management, and regularly blogs on muratyesildere.com. He cofounded a “he for she” initiative called Yanındayız, a platform for Turkish men to support women, and has published a book on diversity called “Oh nooo… the CEO is giving birth”.

Nazlı Tlabar Güler
CHRO, Vodafone Turkey
Nazlı Tlabar Guler joined Vodafone Turkey as Human Resources Director in September 2022. She has 19 years of experience in human resources, and started her career in Avea where she held talent management & development and HR business partner roles.
In 2011, she moved to HSBC where she worked in HR business partnership and organizational development teams before being appointed Head of Performance, Reward and Employee Relations. In 2018, she moved to Cigna Turkey, where she worked as Human Resources and Process/Programme Management Assistant General Manager.
She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Işık University and a Master’s Degree in Organizational and Social Psychology from the London School of Economics.

Dr. Nilüfer Devecigil
Psychologist
Dr. Nilüfer Devecigil is a psychologist, educator, and author dedicated to exploring the profound connection between mind, body, and emotion. She earned her master’s degree in Transpersonal Psychology from Naropa University in Colorado, where she integrated experiential play therapy with humanistic psychotherapy approaches such as Gestalt, person-centered, and existential models.
Rooted in Naropa’s mindfulness-based philosophy, her training included intensive meditation practice, awareness-based group work, and contemplative studies. She worked directly with Carol and Byron Norton, the founders of Experiential Play Therapy, and received trauma-focused training from Dr. Pat Ogden, founder of Sensorimotor Psychotherapy. She further deepened her expertise in somatic attachment through advanced studies with Dr. Diane Poole Heller in Germany.
Dr. Devecigil completed her PhD in Integral and Transpersonal Psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), where she combined academic research with holistic practices in neuroscience, trauma studies, and mindfulness.
She holds a Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) teacher certification from the University of Michigan and has completed Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) training at the Omega Institute in New York. A regular participant in international mindfulness retreats, she shares these insights with individuals and organizations through tailored programs on conscious leadership and organizational well-being.
Originally trained in economics at Claremont Colleges in California, Dr. Devecigil brings over 20 years of cross-disciplinary professional experience. Today, she designs and delivers transformative programs in mindful leadership, trauma-informed well-being, and inner growth for professionals, teams, and mental health practitioners. She also provides training in play therapy and attachment-based parenting for psychologists and educators.
She is the author of Işığın Yolu (“The Way of Light”), a novel that blends themes of personal transformation, attachment, and mindfulness, published by Doğan Kitap.

Oytun Önder
Partner, KPMG Türkiye
Oytun Önder is a Partner of KPMG Türkiye. He is a seasoned professional specializing in litigation support services in cases of corporate misconduct and commercial disputes. He has extensive experience in evidence gathering, damage assessments, and expert witness reporting in both national and international proceedings. Beyond dispute resolution, he leverages insights from misconduct investigations to design prevention and compliance programs, while also contributing to the wider business and social community through lectures, trainings, and publications aimed at strengthening ethical awareness. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Civil Engineering from Middle East Technical University (METU); his master’s thesis on corruption and misconduct in the construction industry is recognized as the first academic study of its kind worldwide. A Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), Önder has served on the management and supervisory boards of the Ethics and Reputation Society and conducted research on the profiles of misconduct perpetrators.

Selman Nacar
Film Director and Producer
Selman Nacar is a filmmaker, with an MFA in Film Directing from Columbia University in New York City. He gave lectures on fictional filmmaking at the same university. He graduated from Istanbul Bilgi University Faculty of Law in 2015 and from the Faculty of Film in 2016. Nacar’s debut Between Two Dawns premiered at the 69th San Sebastian Film Festival and received many awards, including the Best Film Award at the 39th Torino Film Festival. Nacar’s second film premiered at the 80th Venice Film Festival, and received many awards, including the Best Film Award at the 19th Zurich Film Festival, Best Screenplay Award at APSA also known as Asian Oscars. He is the writer & director of the Netflix Original Series Istanbul Encyclopedia, which will be released in 2025.

Prof. Dr. Zafer Yenal
Sabancı University, Faculty of Management, Faculty Member
Prof. Dr. Zafer Yenal joined Sabancı University and the Istanbul Policy Center (IPC) in September 2024, after serving as a professor of sociology at Boğaziçi University since 2000. He received his B.A. in Economics from Middle East Technical University in 1989 and his Ph.D. in Sociology from Binghamton University, New York, in 2000. His research areas include sustainability studies, sociology of consumption, sociology of food, rural sociology, political economy, human geography, and historical sociology. Yenal has produced numerous articles, books, exhibitions, radio and TV programs, as well as podcasts on these topics. For the past three years, he has also been the author of Zappa Zamanlar, a popular social science newsletter.
Curation & Moderation

EVRİM KURAN
Evrim Kuran Consulting, Founder - Universum, Country Leader
Kuran has a BA in English Language & Literature at Hacettepe University and an Executive MBA degree at Sabancı University. She studied Behavioral Economics, Culture of Innovation and Design Thinking at Harvard Business School where she received a Certificate of Management Excellence. Since 2000, Evrim Kuran has been conducting generational research, organizational attractiveness, DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) studies, and reverse mentoring programs. Kuran has worked with many local and global employer brands. She is the Country Leader for Türkiye of world’s leading employer branding research and consulting company, Universum. She is also the creator and the curator of People Make the Brand conferences since 2013.
Kuran is an Advisory Board member of Sabancı School of Management and LEAD Network Türkiye, as well as a member of Global Relations Forum (GRF). Evrim Kuran is a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion lecturer at Sabancı University for EMBA students and MEF University for undergraduate and MBA students. She is also an Independent Board Member at Mondelez International Türkiye.
Besides her career as a consultant, she is also a keynote speaker and a columnist, and her articles are published in certain national and global publications and portals. She is also the author of four books, Telgraftan Tablete (From Telegram to Tablet) in which she wrote about the five generations of Türkiye, Z: Bir Kuşağı Anlamak (Z: Understanding a Generation) which scrutinizes generation Z through various research findings, Onlar Göçtü Buradan (They Moved From Here) in which Kuran focuses on the brain drain among the new generations of Türkiye and Başarılı Bir Kadın Olduğum için Özür Dilerim (Sorry For Being a Successful Woman) which covers her research on impostor phenomenon.

SERDAR TURAN
Harvard Business Review Türkiye, Editor in Chief
Having completed his master’s degree in business administration after an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering, Serdar Turan became a co-founder of Infomag Yayıncılık in 2000.
He has been leading the teams publishing Turkish editions of Businessweek since November 2005 and Harvard Business Review since October 2012. At the moment, he is the chief editor of both Harvard Business Review Türkiye and Bloomberg Businessweek Türkiye.
Turkish-English simultaneous translation will be provided throughout the sessions.