Leaders Received ‘Turkey’s Most Admired Finance Leaders’ Awards at the Leadership Awards Ceremony
At the Golden Leaders Awards CFO gala night, the most admired leaders of the finance sector received their awards.
The 4th edition of the Golden Leader Awards, one of the most prestigious awards in the business world, is being presented this year on January 13-14-15-16. Determined by votes from the business world, Turkey’s 50 Most Admired CEOs, 50 CFOs, 50 CMOs, and 50 CHROs are celebrating their success with the Golden Leader Awards this week. As part of the four-day program, Turkey’s Most Admired CFOs were awarded the Golden Leader Awards last night.
Founder of the Leadership Awards Platform, KREA M.I.C.E. Founder and CEO Seda Mızraklı Ferik stated, “In changing market conditions, the characteristics of leaders play a crucial role in the success of companies. Our democratic and transparent award system created for C-Level Leaders has been highly appreciated across all sectors. Due to the participation conditions, technological infrastructure differences, and the thousands of votes received, we proudly carry the excitement of the ‘Golden Leader Awards,’ which are described as ‘Turkey’s Most Prestigious Leadership Awards.’ We support the ‘meaningful marks’ that leaders leave in their companies and the business world.”
Providing information about the award ceremony, Seda Mızraklı Ferik added, “Golden Leader Awards are regarded as ‘Turkey’s Most Prestigious Leadership Awards’ due to their democratic election infrastructure, the ability for every business professional to nominate their preferred leader by openly writing their name for free, the prevention of multiple votes by the same individuals through SMS verification, the uniqueness of the votes, the absence of sponsor firms, record-breaking participation from the business world every year, and the four consecutive ‘red carpet’ themed magical gala nights.”
Arçelik CFO Belma Topaloğlu Ünlüyıldız spoke at the award ceremony, stating, “I have been recognized among Turkey’s most admired CFOs of 2024. The role of CFO becomes even more challenging in uncertain environments. We are striving to adapt to artificial intelligence technologies and achieve digital transformation. With a strong team, we are managing this difficult process. At Arçelik Turkey, we oversee the sales of our products and the entire after-sales service. We manage a vast ecosystem with a large team.”
KOTON Financial Affairs Director Mert Güneş Sönmezsoy commented, “Due to economic conditions and the difficulties brought by the competitive environment, some tasks become even harder. KOTON is a global company operating in nearly 50 countries. Each country has its own dynamics, and we face different challenges each year. With a successful team, we overcome these challenges and continue our sustainable growth journey.”
Bahçeşehir College Deputy General Manager of Financial Affairs and Finance Mustafa Koçak said, “We gathered on a meaningful night. As Bahçeşehir College, we celebrated our 30th anniversary. As the financial affairs team, we continue our efforts to enhance service quality and improve conditions in a sustainable manner. Despite financial and economic challenges, significant achievements have been made through the effective work of the team. 2024 was a great year, and I hope 2025 will be even better.”
Golden Leader Awards Platform Continues to Grow and Break Participation Records Every Year
According to the statement, the ‘Golden Leader Awards Platform,’ designed to create a more inclusive and technological award system for C-Level Leaders, received 135% more candidate leader nominations in 2024 compared to the previous year. This year, the platform received open-ended nominations for 862 CHROs (Chief Human Resources Officers), 859 CMOs (Chief Marketing Officers), 851 CFOs (Chief Financial Officers), and 1085 CEOs.
On the evening of January 15, during the event held at Raffles Istanbul, Turkey’s 50 Most Admired CFOs received the Golden Leader Award. At the Red Carpet-themed Gala Night, the most admired leaders of the finance world first took the stage one by one to receive their awards and share their ‘secrets to success’ with the audience. Then, they celebrated their achievements with a performance by Ziynet Sali.
“The Secrets of Success from Golden Leaders” Became a Bestseller Last Month
According to the statement, the book ‘The Secrets of Success from Golden Leaders,’ which tells the success stories of last year’s Altın Lider Award-winning CEOs as voted by the business world, was published in November. The book, which consists of 280 pages, contains valuable insights from leaders about the business world. Video interviews with the leaders can also be viewed in the book, which provides great value to the business community. All proceeds from the book are being donated to build computer classrooms for elementary schools in earthquake-affected areas.
2024 Golden Leader Award-Winning Finance Leaders - CFOs
Ahmet Ersöz - BAYMAK - CFO
Ahmet Karabudak - ATASUN OPTİK - CFO
Aslı Yılmaz Aracıoğlu - METRO - CFO
Barbara Hagen - ARAS KARGO - CFO
Barış Alpay - DOĞUŞ HOLDİNG - CFO
Barış Kökoğlu - BORUSAN HOLDİNG - Group CFO
Batur Asmazoğlu - İNCİ - CFO
Bedri Oğuz - HAVER FARMA - CFO
Belma Topaloğlu Ünlüyıldız - ARÇELİK - CFO
Bilge Gerek Özlemiş - HD HOLDİNG - CFO
Bora Çermikli - EKSİM HOLDİNG - Group CFO
Burak Berber - PETROL OFİSİ - CFO
Burak Onur - ÇALIK - CFO
Burcu Ataş - SAVOLA - CFO
Devrim Çağlar Sönmeztürk - BIG CHEFS - CFO
Didem Kaman - OPET - CFO
Emre Saylan - TEI - Finance & Procurement VP
Ertan Dereköylü - NTT DATA - CFO
Gökçe Uzun - JW MARRIOTT - Finance Director
Gökhan Ünüvar - YILDIZLAR YATIRIM HOLDİNG - Group CFO & Executive Board Member
Görkem Altınköprü - DÜRÜMLE - CFO
Gül Ertuğ - FORD OTOSAN - Finance & Accounting Leader, CFO Gülbin Uzuner Bekit - AKFEN - CFO
Hakan Ilgar - SECURITAS - Country Controller, Board Member Hana Jalel Milesi - VODAFONE - CFO & Executive Committee Member
Kerim Kıvanç Aksoy - HUMMEL - CFO Turkey & Southern Region Koray Tulgar - TOSYALI - CFO
Mazlum Yıldırım - LCWAİKİKİ - Deputy General Manager Mert Güneş Sönmezsoy - KOTON - Financial Affairs Director
Mert Yaycıoğlu - ENERJİSA ÜRETİM - CFO
Murat Şeker - THY - CFO & Board Member
Mustafa Günbulut - SANKO - CFO
Mustafa Koçak - BAHÇEŞEHİR KOLEJİ - Deputy GM of Finance Özgür Tokgöz Altun - BOYNER - Group CFO & Executive Board Member
Özlem Yeşildere - MEY DIAGEO - CFO & Board Member
Polat Şen - KOÇ HOLDİNG - Group CFO
Sabri Tütüncü - KİBAR - CFO
Sait Uçman - AK GIDA - CFO
Sevengül Karadağ - CARREFOURSA - CFO
Sevil Tanrıdağlı - YEMEKSEPETİ - CFO
Seyfi Sarıçam - KARADENİZ HOLDİNG - Group CFO
Sibel Yücel - YVES ROCHER - CFO
Teymur Abasguliyev - SOCAR TÜRKİYE - Group CFO
Ümit Kocagil - TEKNOSA - CFO
Umut Özkul - ASTRAZENECA - CFO
Veysi Küçük - AKKÖK - CFO
Yasin Külahçı - KALKINMA BANKASI - CFO
Yeliz Kalafat - INSIDER - CFO
Zeynep Bozkurt - BURGAN BANK - CFO & Board Member
