I am pleased to note that ABFT completed its General Elections on Friday, June 12th, the day immediately following our Innovation Conference, making for a busy week! Election results were as follows:
• New Chairwoman – Rahşan Cebe, Managing Director, Cushman and Wakefield in Turkey.
• New Chairman of the Audit Committee – Tayga Ak of Ak Hukuk.
• New Board Members:
» Armin Zerunyan, General Manager, Istanbul Cluster, Hilton Istanbul, Hilton ParkSA Istanbul, Conrad Istanbul.
» Tolga Görgülü, Public and Industrial Affairs Manager, Frito-Lay.
» Serkan Elden, Managing Director & CEO/President-Eurasia AIG Capital Partners Inc., AIG Investment.
Jeffrey Kemprecos, Director of External Affairs, Merck Sharp & Dohme will continue as Vice Chairman. Dündar Uçar, Chairman, Wall Street Institute Turkey will continue as ABFT’s General Secretary.
My first priority as Chairwoman will be the concerns of our members. Turkey as an emerging market of more than 70 million consumers represents a unique opportunity for US companies and investors, as well as the market bridge to Eurasia. The trade relations Turkey enjoys with neighbors like Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Iraq will be the basis for US access to millions of eager consumers. Dealer and distributor opportunities await for businesses ready to test the waters. The ABFT Board is eager to begin engaging the TR Government on issues of concern to our members including EU harmonization, the rule of law, and streamlined visa and permit processes. The new US-Turkish relationship will be a reciprocal one, and ABFT looks forward to making it easy for the US to benefit from Turkish scholarship and enterprise.
We would like to extend our special thanks to our outgoing Chairman, Galip Sukaya, who has made the past 3 years of his term uniquely successful for ABFT. Thanks to his work we have the staff, the Board and the support we need to make the Turkish experience outstanding for American companies. As President Obama noted, the world’s eyes remain on Turkey as the nation that brings East and West together, to the improvement of both. We at ABFT stand ready to do our part, in partnership with our friends at the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington, our sister AmChams and with the Government of the United States. American companies know that the time to invest in Turkey is now!
Best Regards,
Rahşan Cebe
Chairwoman
American Business Forum in Turkey
Dear Members,
