The critical turning point that led to the summit

The "30 Most Powerful Businesswomen in Turkey" list, which Capital has been compiling for the last 11 years, is an important indication of this progress... When women become executives, the decisions they take are not only about the world of business. It becomes vitally important to strike a balance between work and family life. The list of the 30 Most Powerful Businesswomen in Turkey is composed of those who have successful passed this critical test. These 30 powerful names, who shape the Turkish economy, explain the decisions in their business and private lives that have brought them to where they are today.

"My phılosophy of goıng out ın the fıeld was the correct one"
Akbank Board Chair Suzan Sabancı Dincer manages one of the largest privately-owned banks in Turkey and is the third most powerful woman in the country... She attributes the success she has achieved at Akbank to the restructuring she and her team implemented after the 2001 crisis. Dincer describes this decision, which represents a critical turning point in her career, as follows: "After the 2011 crisis we knew that banking was entering a new era and that we should be ready. The restructuring process, which we entitled the 'New Horizons Project', resulted in us developing an organization which was based completely on the customer, from the branches to the headquarters. Instead of constructing a new building from scratch, we renovated the existing building, despite the various difficulties we faced. The most important change was altering the ways of doing business to which we had become accustomed. During this process I adopted the principle of getting out in the field, of being close to the branches and making frequent visits, and this made a major
contribution to my taking the right decisions. At that time, I was a plenipotentiary member of the board of director. When I look back at it today, I think we managed the process correctly. I believe that we are today reaping the benefits of my resolution and decisiveness at that time. I believe that the priority that was given to customer relations management and technological infrastructure was very important in terms of positioning the bank."
Turkey's 30 most powerful women
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"I gaıned my basıc experıence at pınar"
For İdil Yiğitbaşı, who heads a giant group with 22 companies and 6,000 employees, the years that she worked in the foodstuffs sector at Pınar are particularly important... During her time at the head of the holding, Yiğitbaşı has enabled it to grow steadily. She explains the process that led her to becoming head of it 20 years later as follows: "I started work as an assistant systems and financial analyst in the Financial Affairs Directorate at Yaşar Holding. During the strategic planning process, I was responsible for development projects and information systems projects. In 1995, when I was appointed to supportfunctions in the holding's headquarters, I told our executive chair that I wanted to work in our foodstuffs group in order to increase my operational experience. My request was received positively. In this way, I had the chance to play a more active role in the management and running of the group. This experience, working on branding and marketing, benefited me a lot. I was closer to consumers and customers. I acquired greater experience in operations. The professional executives who nurtured me made a major contribution to my personal and managerial development. I think that the years I spent working at Pınar had a very positive influence on me. Now, I can better understand the importance of the operational experience I acquired in those years."

"Different areas made me a leader"
Umran Beba, who is Asia Pacific Regional Director at PepsiCo, which has over 6,000 employees in 18 countries, summarizes the important decisions which have carried her to her current high position as "being open to change". "The fact that I accepted jobs in different departments and became more than just a marketing expert and gained experience in areas such as human resources and sales are what prepared me for my current position," says Beba. She explains the critical decisions in her career as follows: "In 1996, after 10 years in marketing, I was offered a position as human resources director. I only thought for one night before saying 'yes'. Because it was the right decision. It was exciting to have a new experience, a new outlook and manage cultural change projects in order to achieve operational success. In fact, in headquarters and later as regional director, about 50 percent of your time is spent on human resources. From this perspective it was very much the right decision. The later move to the sales department was also an important change. I was asked to be responsible for both sales and marketing after the 1999 earthquake. Motivating the team and achieving results during this very special time was a very special experience. Leaders who have this experience gain a lot in terms of being able to manage the entire business. Later, managing leaders from different countries and different cultures provided another important experience. I believe this: 'You will love the job you do... You will develop a broad outlook... You will develop leaders of the future and achieve success with people... When you are doing these things, you will have a goal for what you want your legacy to be."