Bilal Ekşi

CEO / Member of the Board

Bilal Ekşi graduated from Yıldız Technical University, the Department of Electronics and Communications Engineering in 1989. Starting his career in 1989, Mr. Ekşi worked as an Electronics and Communications Engineer at Turkish State Railways and thereafter, he was assigned to the position of Workshop Manager at Istanbul Ulasim A.S., and he played an active role in realization of significant transport projects. 

As the Head of Overhaul Workshops at Turkish Airlines Inc., Mr. Ekşi carried out the duty of maintenance of aircraft engines, landing gears and all components between 2003 and 2005. In 2005, he has been assigned as the Chief Ground Operations Officer at Turkish Airlines Inc. Mr. EKŞİ accomplished significant projects, particularly in improvement of the on-time departure performance during his tenure.

Having served as the Chief Production Officer at Turkish Technic in 2008 and 2009; and as the General Manager of Cyprus Turkish Airlines as part of the reorganization of Cyprus Turkish Airlines in 2010; and as the Executive Vice President at "Turkish Engine Center (TEC)", established by the Joint Venture of Pratt Whitney, an American engine manufacturer, and Turkish Technic Inc. between 2010 – 2011; Mr. Ekşi was assigned as the Director General of Civil Aviation in April 2011. During his tenure as the Director General of Civil Aviation, Türkiye has been reelected as a member of Council of International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) 66 years later its pervious membership and has become one of the 36 members in ICAO’s decision-making platform.

On 21st of October, 2016, he was assigned as the CEO and continues his duty as the CEO and Member of the Board.

Assoc. Prof. Murat Şeker

Chief Financial Officer / Member of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee

Dr. Murat Şeker, PhD earned his undergraduate degree in Industrial Engineering from Marmara University in 2000, followed by a Master's Degree in Economics from Sabancı University in 2002. Then, he earned a PhD in Economics from University of Minnesota, USA in 2008.

Dr. Şeker worked as an Economist at Financial and Private Sector Development Vice Presidency of World Bank, USA between 2008 and 2013. During his tenure at the World Bank, he was responsible for operational project management; production of policy reports and research publications on innovation, entrepreneurship, international trade, and growth in developing countries.

Between 2013 and 2016, Dr. Şeker worked at Ziraat Bank as Senior Vice President of Financial Institutions and Investor Relations Department where he was responsible for international financing; managing the relationship with all financial institutions and investors. During this period, Dr. Şeker also served as Board Member of Ziraat Investment, Ziraat Private Pension and Ziraat Insurance subsidiaries. 

In July 2016, Dr. Şeker was assigned as the Chief Financial Officer of Turkish Airlines. In Turkish Airlines, he is responsible from finance, treasury, accounting, procurement and investor relations. In March 2021, he was additionally appointed as a Member of the Board and the Executive Committee. Dr. Şeker also serves as a Board Member of Turkish Technic and SunExpress subsidiaries.

Between 2015 and 2018, Dr. Şeker lectured as part-time professor at Boğaziçi University, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences and received Associate Professorship title in October 2018.

Ahmet Olmuştur

Chief Commercial Officer

Born in 1980 in Istanbul, Ahmet Olmuştur completed his primary and secondary education in Istanbul and then received his bachelor’s degree in business administration from the Marmara University School of Business. He went on to complete his graduate studies with an MBA from Long Island University Brookville (New York), after studying at the European Business School (London) and Pole Universitaire Leonard de Vinci (Paris). 

He began his career working part-time at the Turkish Airlines call center in 2000. After completing his graduate studies, he continued his career as a flight analyst in the Department of Revenue Management, after which he served in a number of roles working with General Distribution Systems, Revenue Management and Pricing in the same department. He was later appointed Head of Revenue Management. Since 2014, he has been serving as Deputy General Manager Chief Marketing and Sales Officer. He is also a member of the Air Albania Board of Directors, member of the Sunexpress Board of Directors and the Audit Committee.

Mr. Olmuştur is in charge of planning and implementing the flight network for the main Turkish Airlines brand and is responsible for planning scheduled flights as well as additional flights, for setting and optimizing ticket prices, for sales and sales channels, marketing, customer experience, Miles&Smiles and corporate communications.

Ahmet Olmuştur is fluent in English and speaks Arabic at a beginner level. He is also able to read and write Ottoman Turkish. Mr. Olmuştur is a member of the Board of Directors and Board of Trustees at Prof. Dr. Fuat Sezgin Research Foundation for the History of Science in Islam. He is married and has three children.

M.Akif Konar

Chief Operations Officer

M.Akif Konar has been appointed as Chief Operations Officer (COO) at Turkish Airlines as of 1 January 2024.

Konar completed his undergraduate and graduate studies in Management Engineering at Istanbul Technical University.

Starting his career in 1995, Konar worked as Specialist at Belbim A.Ş., Implementation Specialist at Vestel Group of Companies, and System Development Manager at Opet Petrolcülük A.Ş respectively.

Between 2004 and 2013, Konar served at Turkish Airlines as Investment Planning and Projects Manager, The Americas and Far East Regional Manager, SVP for Network Planning, SVP for Marketing and Sales respectively.

Konar served as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) at Turkish Airlines between April 2013 and August 2021. As CCO, he oversaw the SVPs for Ground Operations, Catering and Inflight Products and Regional Flights (AnadoluJet). Until a re-organization in October 2016, he also oversaw the SVP for Cargo Operations under his organization.

Between September 2021 and November 2023, Konar served as Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) at Turkcell, where he was responsible from Strategic Planning, Business Development, Program Management and Subsidiaries Management.

Mr. Konar speaks English, is married and has two children.

Levent Konukcu

Chief Investment & Strategy Officer

Mr. Levent Konukcu was born in 1975 in Eskişehir, Türkiye and received his Bachelor’s Degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Istanbul Technical University.

Mr. Konukcu started his early career working as an engineer in several midsize companies. He started his career at Turkish Airlines in 2003 as an engineer in the engine shop under the management of Chief Technical Officer and beginning in 2004, he continued to work as an engineer under Strategic Planning Management. In 2009, Mr. Konukcu was appointed as the Fleet Planning and Aircraft Acquisition Manager and served as the SVP of Investment Management between 2012 and 2020. With his career of almost 17 years in Turkish Airlines, he took part in the preparation of the Company’s strategical plans, investment plans and fleet plans. He also played an active role in the leasing or purchasing of nearly 550 aircraft. The number of aircraft in the Company’s fleet rose from 65 aircraft in 2003 to 365 aircraft in 2020 when he left the Company. Mr. Konukcu played a significant role in the establishing of the Flight Training Center which would reach the capacity of 29 flight simulators and the Flight Training Academy which had 27 training aircraft. Mr. Konukcu also coordinated the move of the passenger operations from Atatürk Airport to Istanbul Airport, which was completed in 2019.

Mr. Konukcu served as the Vice President of Strategy and Affiliates Management in Turkish Aerospace Industry between September 2020 and January 2022. He also served as the acting Vice President of Corporate Marketing and Communications for about 2.5 months. In this period, the 10 year strategy plan of the company was prepared and process improvement activities were expedited.

Having begun serving as the Chief Investment & Technology Officer at Turkish Airlines in February 1, 2022, Mr. Konukcu is responsible for strategical planning, fleet planning, aircraft and aircraft related major investments, management of the international relations, especially Star Alliance, management of the innovation activities and activities relating to sustainability. In 2022–2023, he held the positions of Chairman of the Board at TCI Systems Inc. and Member of the Board of Directors at We World Express. Presently, he holds the positions of Member of the Board of Directors at TEC Ltd., Member of the Board of Directors at SunExpress, and Member of the Board of Directors at Air Albania.

Mr. Konukcu is fluent in English. He is married and has three children.

Abdulkerim Çay

Chief Human Resources Officer

Born in 1981 in Amasya, Türkiye, Abdulkerim Çay holds a degree in Political Science and International Relations from Boğaziçi University in Istanbul. Mr. Çay also completed the Executive MBA program at the same university.

Beginning his professional career in the Prime Ministry of Türkiye as a Press and Public Relations Advisor in 2004, Çay took part in the establishment of the Prime Ministry Investment Support and Promotion Agency of Türkiye (ISPAT) in 2006 where he held senior positions including Vice Presidency until he left for private sector in 2010. 

Çay served as an executive in various companies before assuming the position of Chief Human Resources Officer at Turkish Airlines in April, 2015. He also currently serves as the Chairman of the Board Directors of THY Flight Training and Airport Operations Inc. and Turkish Support Services Inc.

Fluent in English and beginner in Arabic and French, Çay is married with four kids.

Mehmet Kadaifçiler

Chief Flight Operations Officer

Mehmet Kadaifçiler, who was born in Konya in 1963, completed his undergraduate education in the Turkish Air Force Academy, Department of Aircraft, and graduated in 1986.

Between 1986 and 2000, he served as a jet pilot and an instructor pilot in various units of the Turkish Air Force.

He completed his master's degree at Turkish Air Force Academy between 2000 and 2002. As a Staff Officer, he retired in 2005 after serving as a Squadron Commander and working in the Turkish Air Force Headquarters Flight Training Department. He joined Turkish Airlines as a First Officer in 2006 and was appointed as a Captain Pilot in 2009.

In Turkish Airlines, he served as the Quality Assurance Directorate Inspector, Quality Assurance (Flight Operations) Manager and Executive Vice President of Flight Operations (Chief Pilot). Between the years 2022 and 2023, he served as a member of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee and as Chief Flight Operations Officer. Currently, Kadaifçiler continues his duty as Chief Flight Operations Officer.

Dr. Kerem Kızıltunç

Chief Information Technology Officer

Dr. Kerem Kızıltunç earned his Bachelor’s Degree and Master’s degree in Computer Engineering from Boğaziçi University in 1996 and 1999, respectively. He earned PhD in Business Management from İstanbul Bilgi University in 2019. He started his early carrier as Software Development Engineer in Bilko Otomasyon between 1998-1999. Dr. Kızıltunç worked as Software Development Engineer at Teradata between 1999-2003 and Microsoft Development Center between 2003-2006 in Denmark. Then, he was promoted as Senior Development Leader at Microsoft Development Center.

Dr. Kızıltunç joined Turkish Airlines as Vice President of IT in 2009. In the period of his vice presidency, he built an 8-year roadmap for the domain solutions, technology modernization, and new business projects and he leaded numerous strategic projects. After serving as Senior Vice President between 2013 – 2016 at Turkish Airlines, Mr. Kızıltunç served as Director in Enterprise IT department between 2017 – 2022 at Turkcell.

In March 2022, Mr. Kızıltunç rejoined Turkish Airlines started to serve as the Chief Information Technology & Transformation Officer and General Manager of THY Teknoloji ve Bilişim A.Ş which strategically aims to produce global software products.

Fluent in English and intermediate in Danish, Dr. Kızıltunç is married with two children.

Ali Türk

Chief Cargo Officer

Ali Türk graduated from Istanbul Technical University's Department of Industrial Engineering and completed an Executive MBA program at the same university. Mr. Türk began his career in 1999 and held positions at Başak Hayat Insurance, Ülker Group of Companies, and Ceva Logistics before joining Turkish Airlines in 2011. He continued his role as Head of Cargo in 2012. In May 2016, he started working at Turkcell, and from March 2017 to December 2023, he served as Deputy General Manager of Supply Chain Management at Turkcell and its group companies, responsible for procurement, logistics, leasing, contract data management, transition rights, construction, and real estate processes.