Demir Sabancı () is a Turkish entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and philanthropist. He is the chairman of Sedes Holding and its subsidiaries. His businesses range from the largest personal care market chain in Turkey, to real estate management and development in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Sabancı is a third generation member of the Sabancı family. Born in 1971 he is a grandson of Haci Omer Sabancı and the only son of

Özdemir Sabancı Özdemir Sabancı (1941 – January 9, 1996) was a Turkish businessman and a second generation member of the Sabancı family. Biography He was born in Adana, Turkey. After finishing high school at the Tarsus American College in Tarsus, provinc ...

, who was murdered by a terrorist attack in 1996 at the headquarters of

Sabancı Holding Hacı Ömer Sabancı Holding A.Ş., commonly abbreviated as Sabancı Holding, is an industrial and financial conglomerate with headquarters in Istanbul, Turkey. The company's primary activities are in financial services, energy (electricity genera ...

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Business

Demir Sabancı started his business career in Japan and quickly rose to the executive ranks. He began at Toyota City in 1993 working in various executive positions with Mitsui & Co. and Toyota Motor Corporation. He left Japan and moved to the United States to help lead Toyota Motor Sales. After leaving Toyota, Sabancı rose through the corporate ranks at a number of companies. In 1996, he joined

as a board member and three years later, founded Teknosa, the pioneer electronics retail chain in Turkey. Between 1999 and 2004, Sabancı held various executive positions in Sabancı Holdings while serving as the president of the Retail Strategic Business Unit that is composed of Carrefoursa, Diasa, and Teknosa. Between 2000 and 2004, he served as founding shareholder and first General Manager and Chairman of Teknosa. As an entrepreneur and venture capitalist, Sabancı founded and co-founded several companies in Turkey. He is also a founding shareholder and board member of Odesa, Döysa VIP Aviation, and Gratis. On April 9, 2002, Sabancı launched the company Sedes Holding, a Turkish-based firm that specializes in helping launch new business through venture capital; investment management; and real estate investment. He is currently the president and chairman of the board. He also created Sedes Insurance Brokerage and Reinsurance as an additional venture under Sedes Holding.

Education

Sabancı holds a double major in Economics and International Relations from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

. He holds two Masters of Business degrees, one from Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Management and the other from

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institu ...

in Global Business Administration.

Philanthropy and community

Sabancı is an active philanthropist with organizations such as the Turkish Health & Education Foundation (SEV). Sabancı is also an Advisory Council Member of

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

’s Johnson Business School.

References

External links

Newspaper ''Radikal'' about the sale of his shares

Demir Sabanci 1971 births Turkish businesspeople Tarsus American College alumni Boston University School of Management alumni Cornell University alumni Living people {{Turkey-business-bio-stub