Mehmet İlker Aycı (born 1971,

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

) is a Turkish businessperson. Aycı was the advisor of

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician serving as the List of presidents of Turkey, 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as prime minister of Turkey from 2003 to 2014 and as Lis ...

in 1994 and served as the CEO of several Turkish companies before becoming the chairman of

Turkish Airlines Turkish Airlines ( Turkish: ''Türk Hava Yolları'') is the national flag carrier airline of Turkey. , it operates scheduled services to 340 destinations in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, making it the largest mainline carrier in the w ...

from 2015 to 2022. He had been appointed as the new CEO and managing director of Air India in January 2022, but later declined the offer.

Early and personal life

İlker Aycı graduated from the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at

Bilkent University Bilkent University ( tr, Bilkent Üniversitesi) is a private university located in Ankara, Turkey. It was founded by Prof. İhsan Doğramacı in 1984, with the aim of creating a center of excellence in higher education and research. It is constan ...

before continuing his education at the Department of Political Science at the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

as a researcher. For a period starting from 1994, Aycı was the advisor of

, then mayor of

. On 19 November 2018, İlker Aycı married lawyer and sports commentator Tuğçe Saatman, where president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan acted as one of the wedding witnesses. Aycı speaks Turkish, English and Russian fluently.

Career

Aycı held several positions in the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and served as the CEO of several insurance companies from 2005 to 2011. In January 2011, he was appointed as the President of the Prime Ministry Investment Support and Promotion Agency of Turkey. In February 2013, Aycı was appointed as the vice president of the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies, and was promoted in January 2014 to be the chairman. He held this position until 2015. İlker Aycı was a executive board member of

until April 2015, when he was appointed as chairman of the airline, replacing resigning Hamdi Topçu. On 26 January 2022, İlker Aycı resigned from his position as

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of Turkish Airlines. During the board meeting the next day, Ahmet Bolat was appointed to replace him. Aycı held 14 to 17 positions at the same time in the airline and in its subsidiaries. On 14 February 2022, less than three weeks after his departure from Turkish Airlines, Aycı was appointed by

Tata Group The Tata Group () is an Indian multinational conglomerate headquartered in Mumbai. Established in 1868, it is India's largest conglomerate, with products and services in over 150 countries, and operations in 100 countries across six continent ...

to become the new CEO and managing director of Air India. He was due to take on the positions on 1 April, however in 1 March, Aycı announced that he had declined the offer due to widespread criticism in India.

Honors

Order of the Rising Sun, 3rd Class, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon (2021)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayci, M. Ilker 1971 births Living people Businesspeople from Istanbul Turkish Airlines Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 3rd class