Güler Sabancı (born 1955) is a Turkish businesswoman, a third-generation female member of the
Sabancı family, and the chairperson of the family-controlled
Sabancı Holding, the second-largest industrial and financial conglomerate in Turkey. As of 2020, she is listed as the 76th most powerful woman in the world by ''Forbes'', which first recognized her in 1999.
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Education and early career
Güler was born the daughter and first child of İhsan Sabancı
İhsan Sabancı (1931–1979) was a Turkish businessman and a second-generation member of the Sabancı family.
He was born in 1931 in the village of Akçakaya village in Kayseri Province as the first of six sons of Hacı Ömer Sabancı and ...
and his wife Yüksel in 1955 in Adana, Turkey. After finishing high school at TED Ankara College
TED Ankara College Foundation Schools is a group of private schools in Turkey. College consists of kindergarten, elementary, middle and high schools. TED Ankara College Foundation Schools Incek Campus is located in Ankara, Turkey.
History
At ...
in Ankara, she was educated in business administration
Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...
at Boğaziçi University in Istanbul. In 1978 she started her professional career at LasSA, a family-owned tire production company in Kocaeli Province. She was then appointed general manager of KordSA, a position she held for 14 years. Later, Güler Sabancı became a member of the board of directors at Sabancı Holding, heading the tires and reinforcement materials group, as well as having responsibility for human resources.
Sabancı Holding
Güler Sabancı is the chairwoman and managing director of Sabancı Holding, one of the leading and most reputable business groups in Turkey. She started her career at the tire manufacturing company of the group and held various roles at the other group companies. Ms. Sabancı is the Founding President of the Sabancı University and also acts as chairman of the Sakip Sabancı Museum and chairwoman of the board of trustees of the Sabancı Foundation, the leading private foundation in Turkey. She is the first and only female member of European Round Table of Industrialists (ERT). In October 2013, she was named 2nd on Fortune’s 50 Most Powerful Women in Business (outside USA).[European School of Management Responsible Leadership Award](_blank)
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In 2012, Sabancı was appointed a member of the board of United Nations Global Compact, the UN's highest-level advisory body involving business, civil society, labour and employers organizations.
As of 2020, she is listed as the 76th most powerful woman in the world by ''Forbes''.
Awards, decorations and honorary degrees
*Fortune’s 50 Most Powerful Women in Business (outside USA)
Orders and decorations
* ''2007'' – : Order of Leopold II
* ''2009'' – : Order of Civil Merit
* ''2010'' – : Silbernes Ehrenkreuz der Republik Österreich
* ''2010'' – : National Order of the Legion of Honour
Awards
* ''2006'' – : Honorary Degree by Drexel University
Drexel University is a private research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a financier and philanthropist. Founded as Drexel Institute of Art, S ...
* ''2007'' – : Corporate Partner Award by ''American - Turkish Society''
* ''2009'' – : ''Raymond Georis Prize for Innovative Philanthropy'' by Council of the European Union
* ''2011'' – : Schumpeter Prize
Joseph Alois Schumpeter (; February 8, 1883 – January 8, 1950) was an Austrian-born political economist. He served briefly as Finance Minister of German-Austria in 1919. In 1932, he emigrated to the United States to become a professor at ...
in memory of the famous Austrian economist Joseph A. Schumpeter
* ''2011'' – : ESMT Responsible Leadership Award by European School of Management and Technology
* ''2011'' – : Clinton Global Citizen Award by Clinton Foundation
The Clinton Foundation (founded in 2001 as the William J. Clinton Presidential Foundation, and renamed in 2013 as the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation) is a nonprofit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. tax code. It was e ...
Personal life
Sabancı is notably private about her personal life, purposefully keeping quiet about her relationships. As of 2021, she was in a relationship with Eda Taşpınar.Sakıp Sabancı
Sakıp Sabancı (7 April 1933 – 10 April 2004) was a Turkish business tycoon and philanthropist.
Biography
He was the second son of a cotton trader and worked in his father's business without completing high school. He was the head of Turkey's ...
as her idol, alongside her siblings, she was forced into fighting to obtain her rightful position and status within the family.
References
External links
Creating Emerging Markets Interview
at the Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA p ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sabanci, Guler
1955 births
Living people
Businesspeople from Istanbul
TED Ankara College Foundation Schools alumni
Guler Sabanci
Boğaziçi University alumni
Turkish women in business
Turkish chief executives
Order of Civil Merit members
People from Adana