Itır Sinem Aykut

Itir Sinem Aykut is a devoted student of entrepreneurship. In addition to her professional marketing, sales and strategic management experience between 1993 and 2005 in MNCs like ALCATEL CABLE, UNILEVER and TURKCELL, she has had valuable entrepreneurial experience as a partner in GEMINI Tourism running international meetings and conferences since 2005. Meanwhile, she has established and partnered in various other SMEs such as Tokyo Restaurant and Sushi Bar (2000), Shark Advertising (2009) and Asia Minor (2017) which have collectively led her to gain expertise in different sectors pertaining to her interests.

As a part of her social responsibility missions, she has taken on positions in Turkey’s prominent Foreign Economic Relations Board, DEIK, serving in the Mexican/Brazilian and Canadian Business Council’s Boards since 2001. She has been a Board Member of Association des Gourmets en Turquie and a member of Chaine des Rotisseurs as a part of her commitment to the uniting and peace building power of food cultures for the peoples of the world. She has held memberships in other international associations such as Women Presidents Organisation (WPO), Society of Incentive Travel (SITE), Meetings Professional International (MPI), International Congress and Conference Association (ICCA), Professional Conference Managers Association (PCMA), and Corporate Social Responsibility Association of Turkey (CSR Turkey).

She has a special interest in women’s empowerment and has been a member of KAGIDER, Turkey’s esteemed Women Entrepreneurs Association since 2009. She is currently serving in the Board as the President of International Relations Strategy Group. She holds BA degree in Business Administration from Bosphorus University and an MSc in International Economic Management from the University of Birmingham. She is currently pursuing a Doctorate Degree at Kadir Has University writing a thesis on the issue area of International Trade as an Instrument of Foreign Policy. She is also teaching an undergraduate course on Entrepreneurship at Kadir Has University since 2017. She is the mother of two daughters.

Ahmet Işık Aykut

Aykut was born in 1969 in Istanbul. He studied in the Law Faculty of the University of Istanbul. He was the Managing Director of Gemini Tourism for 25 years, and a partner in Tokyo Restaurant and Sushi Bar for 15 years. He was a leading member in the TURYID Association (Turkish Restaurant & Entertainment Association) and served in many other communities and associations such as ASTA, JATA, ICCA as part of his civil society roles.

He led Turkish Friends and Wine as President between 2014 and 2017 after serving in its Board over a decade. He is a member of Chaine de Rotisseurs and currently works as a part of the advisory board of Turkey’s first gastronomy association Yedy. He is also a member of he German-Turkish Chamber of Commerce and Industry.