Mag gives awards to top businesspeople

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Ümit Boyner and Vuslat Sabancı. DHA Photo

Turkey’s Ekonomist magazine distributed its 21st annual “business people of the year” awards on the evening of March 8 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Istanbul. The winners were derived from a survey of 2,700 people interviewed by the magazine and the awards were given in seven different categories.

Turkey’s top business leaders were in attendance.

Attendees included Doğan Holding’s Honorary Chairwoman Aydın Doğan’s wife Sema Doğan. Hürriyet newspaper’s Executive Board Director Vuslat Doğan Sabancı, Turkish Industry and Business Association (TÜSİAD) President Ümit Boyner, Hürriyet columnist Ertuğrul Özkök, Doğan Burda Chief Executive Officer and Hürriyet columnist Mehmet Y. Yılmaz, Pegasus Executive Board Director Ali Sabancı, Vodafone Turkey Chief Executive Officer Serpil Timuray, the Banking Supervision and Regulation Agency (BDDK) head Tevfik Bilgin, Ekonomist magazine’s Editor-in-Chief Rauf Ateş and his team, as well as other leading members of the Turkish business community.

TÜSAİD’s Ümit Boyner was the recipient of the “Nongovernmental Organization leader of the year” award. The “professional of the year” awards went to Vodafone Chief Executive Officer Serpil Timuray and Turkish Airlines General Manager Temel Kotil. The “Businessperson of the year” award was given to Pegasus Airlines’ Chief Executive Officer Ali Sabancı. The “female entrepreneur of the year” award went to House Café chain founder Canan Özdemir and the “male entrepreneur of the year” award went to the founder of the local coffee chain Kahve Dünyası Birol Altınkılıç. Tevfik Bilgin, the president of the BDDK, received the award for the “civil servant of the year.”

Meanwhile, Hürriyet’s former editor-and-chief of 20 years, Ertuğrul Özkök, said he was accepting his award on behalf of Ekonomist magazine in his speech at the ceremony.