BUSINESS WORLD MET AT THE TURKEY ECONOMY SUMMIT ORGANISED BY COMMON SENSE

The summit was held in Istanbul where Eczacıbaşı Holding Chairman Rahmi Faruk Eczacıbaşı, Sabancı University Finance Chair Prof. Dr. Özgür Demirtaş and TÜGİAD President Gürkan Yıldırım were the speakers. Esma Ataş, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Modaise Erva, took her place at the summit.

By Ortak Akıl Business Platform, the “think tank” of SMEs and family businesses

– Four Seasons Bosphorus Hotel

– With the participation of nearly 200 family business leaders

– It was accompanied by Arzum’s iconic Turkish coffee presentation.

Here are the highlights of the summit’s inspiring speeches:

Dr Yılmaz Sönmez, President of the Common Sense Business Platform;

“Family businesses are saying “hello” to a new world. This is a world of “black swans” and “perfect storms”, i.e. pandemics, unrelenting geo-political tensions, extreme climate events and natural disasters. Today’s resilient companies are those that are able to adapt to uncertainties, attract talent and achieve triple transformation: corporate, digital and green.”

TÜGİAD President Gürkan Yıldırım;

“The Marmara Industrial Zone, which has a share between 25% and 36% of the basic indicators of the manufacturing industry, should be decentralised due to the earthquake risk”.

Faruk Eczacıbaşı, Vice Chairman of the Board of Eczacıbaşı Holding and Chairman of the Board of the Informatics Foundation of Turkey;

“Family companies should realise their own disruptive innovations before the “great destruction” that awaits them. The Turkish diaspora abroad, formed by brain drain, should be utilised not as a “missed opportunity” but as a cross-border brain power and potential project partners”.

Murat Kolbaşı, Chairman of the Board of Arzum Home Appliances;

“For family businesses to survive into the future, “sustainability” approach, not “turnover growth”, should be placed at the centre of the paradigm. Global branding should be given importance”.

Sabancı University economist Prof. Dr Özgür Demirtaş;

“The era of large money emission in the world has come to an end. The financial tightening trend may continue in the central banks of the US, Europe and Japan. In the Turkish economy, which has returned to the rational line, the “narrow corridor” may continue until mid-2024. If the momentum between 2002 and 2008 can be regained with the insistence on structural transformation, Turkey has great opportunities with its 85+ million population, product and market diversification capability”.