Kale Group

Between 1992 and 1993, Zeynep Bodur Okyay held various management trainee roles in the production units of Çanakkale Seramik Fabrikaları in Çan, Çanakkale. In 1995, she was appointed to the Executive Board of Kale Group’s marketing companies and became its Chair. She has served as Chair and CEO of Kale Group since 2007.

Zeynep Bodur Okyay actively contributes to numerous civil society and international organisations through leadership roles. She served two consecutive terms as President of the Assembly of the Istanbul Chamber of Industry between 2013 and 2022. She currently chairs the Global Relations Forum and serves on the Board and Executive Board of the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK), chairs the DEİK Türkiye–Morocco Business Council, and holds memberships in the Turkish Industry and Business Association (TÜSİAD), the Etki Yap Advisory Board and the Carnegie Europe Advisory Board. She has actively supported G20 processes since Türkiye’s presidency in 2015, most recently serving as Co-Chair of the B20 Women, Diversity and Inclusion Action Council during Brazil’s presidency.

In recognition of her contributions and service to Turkish–Italian relations, she was awarded the “Caveliere di Lavora” decoration by the Italian State in 2006, followed by the high-level state honour “Ufficiale Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana” in 2014. In 2010, she received the Franco Nobili Award under the “Türkiye in Europe” initiative for her contributions to relations between Türkiye and European Union countries. That same year, she was awarded the Distinguished Service Award by the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye.

Through her work with the Harvard Alumni Association, of which she is a founding member, she also supported the establishment of a Turkish Studies Chair at Harvard University. As Chair of the Board of Trustees and Board of Directors of the Dr. (h.c.) İbrahim Bodur Kaleseramik Education, Health and Social Welfare Foundation, she leads numerous pioneering programmes within Kale Group that contribute to Türkiye’s education, design, art, local development and social entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Zeynep Bodur Okyay graduated from the Italian High School and the Management Engineering Department of Istanbul Technical University, and completed postgraduate executive education programmes at Harvard University. She is fluent in Italian and English. She is married to Osman Okyay, Vice Chair of Kale Group’s Board of Directors, and has one child.

Born in Istanbul in 1966, Osman Okyay completed his primary and secondary education in İzmir before graduating in Mechanical Engineering from Boğaziçi University in Istanbul. He also holds a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of New Hampshire in the United States. Following his military service, he worked at Digital Equipment Corporation’s Istanbul office from 1990 to 1993, first as a technical service engineer and later as a technical service planning manager.

Okyay joined Kale Group in 1994. In the same year, he took courses in Koç University’s Executive MBA programme.

He began his career at Kale Group as Deputy General Manager of Kalekalıp A.Ş. in 1994, became General Manager in 1997 and was appointed Head of Kale Group’s Technical Division in 2000. He currently serves as Vice Chair of Kale Group.

Since joining the Group, he has worked to expand its focus on advanced technologies, directing and managing investments in robotics and automation, industrial energy equipment, software and simulation, high-technology ceramics, defence and aerospace.

Okyay enabled Kale Group to establish partnerships with global companies including General Electric, Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce. He also played a role in positioning the Group as a direct subcontractor to leading defence and aerospace companies such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Airbus and Northrop Grumman.

In addition to his responsibilities at Kale Group, Okyay actively serves in other organisations and civil society institutions.

He was elected Chair of the Turkish side of the Türkiye–US Business Council for 2013–2015. The Council was established under the leadership of the Republic of Türkiye’s Ministry of Economy to support a model economic partnership between Türkiye and the United States. He currently chairs the Foreign Economic Relations Board’s Türkiye–United Kingdom Business Council and serves on the executive boards of its Türkiye–US and Türkiye–Canada Business Councils. His other roles include Chair of the Board of the Defence and Aerospace Industry Manufacturers Association (SASAD), Board Member of the International Investors Association (YASED), President of the Assembly of the Çanakkale Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Chair of the Board of the Aerospace Cluster Association, General Assembly Member of OYAK, Board Member of the Boğaziçi University Foundation and Member of the Board of Trustees of the Fatih Sultan Mehmet University Foundation.

Ali Rıza Alptekin is a senior executive with more than 35 years of experience in the automotive, defence and technology sectors. He graduated in Mechanical Engineering from Boğaziçi University and completed his master’s degree at Clemson University.

He began his career at Otosan through Koç Holding’s Management Development Programme and played a key role in establishing Honda’s automobile manufacturing facility in Türkiye. He was responsible for Honda Motor Co.’s European supply chain operations in the United Kingdom, developing a global perspective through international experience in Japan, Europe and the United States.

As Deputy General Manager at Otokar, he managed operations for defence and commercial vehicle projects, led transformation initiatives and developed international partnerships. After serving as Country President of Yazaki Türkiye, he brought his entrepreneurial vision to life by founding a technology venture focused on urban electric micromobility.

Ali Rıza Alptekin joined Kale Group in 2024 and currently serves as President of the Defence and Aerospace Group. Fluent in Japanese and English, he draws on his experience across different regions to put his global leadership vision into practice.

Born in 1964, Haluk Alperat graduated in Mechanical Engineering from Boğaziçi University in 1988 and completed a master’s degree in Business Administration at Bilkent University in 1990.

Alperat began his career at İnterbank, working in its Capital Markets Department from 1990 to 1993. Between 1993 and 1996, he held various positions in Finansbank’s Corporate Finance Department, ultimately becoming Group Manager. From 1996 to 1999, he served as Deputy Director in the Corporate Finance and International Business Development departments of Global Securities. He was Deputy General Manager for Corporate Finance at Raymond James Türkiye from 2000 to 2002. Between 2002 and 2007, he served as General Manager and Board Member of Ekspres Yatırım, a Denizbank subsidiary, acting as its founding CEO from the company’s acquisition from the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) while it was inactive. Alperat has served as Vice President for Finance at Kale Group since 2007.

Dr. Abdullah Çerekçi earned his undergraduate degree in Industrial Engineering from Bilkent University and completed his master’s and doctoral degrees in Industrial and Systems Engineering at Texas A&M University. He began his career in 2002 as a Production Planning Specialist at Ford Otosan. In 2008, he joined Booz & Company as a Management Consulting Project Manager, before becoming Strategy Project Manager at Sabancı Holding in 2012. Between 2013 and 2023, he served at Zorlu Holding as Strategy and Business Development Manager and subsequently as Director of Strategy, Mergers and Acquisitions. Dr. Abdullah Çerekçi joined Kale Group in 2023 as Vice President responsible for Corporate Strategy and Business Development.

He has also served as Chair of the Outbound Investments Business Council of the Foreign Economic Relations Board since 2020, and as Co-Founder and Vice Chair of the Board of Aegean Ventures since 2021.

Born in İzmir in 1974, Murat Erez graduated in Computer Science Engineering from Ege University in 1996. Between 1994 and 1996, he worked on the İzmir Provincial and District National Education Software Project. From 1996 to 1998, he worked as a software engineer at Bisan, which manufactured products under the Peugeot and Bisan brands.

Murat Erez joined Kale Group in 1999 and successively served as Software Development Supervisor, Deputy Software Development Manager, Business Applications Manager and Head of Information Technology. He has served as Kale Group’s Vice President responsible for Information Technology since 2022.

Born in Kütahya in 1975, Özlem Akyüz Atamer studied at Ankara University Faculty of Law between 1993 and 1997. After attending the Commercial Law Programme at the Faculty’s Research Institute of Banking and Commercial Law, she qualified as a Trademark Attorney through the Turkish Patent Institute. She completed her legal traineeship at Reisoğlu-Kuntalp-Ensari Law Office in Ankara and began her career at the same firm.

Atamer studied at Frances King College in the United Kingdom and attended an American Law programme at the University of Pennsylvania’s Dickinson School of Law in the United States. She joined Kale Group as a lawyer at the end of 1999 and, after serving at every level within the Group’s legal function, was appointed Head of Legal.

Born in 1975, Rana Birden graduated in International Relations from Galatasaray University in 1998 and completed the university’s European Union master’s programme in 2005.

Between 1999 and 2012, she successively served as Senior Research Specialist at the Economic Development Foundation, Deputy Project Coordinator of the European Union Civil Society Development Programme, EU Research and Documentation Coordinator at Bahçeşehir University, and Director of the Foundation for Social Participation and Development. She also advised numerous foundations and associations, including the Sabancı Foundation, the Third Sector Foundation of Türkiye and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. Birden served as Executive Director of the Global Relations Forum from 2012 to 2014 and continued her work with the Türkiye Europe Foundation and as a member of the C20 Steering Committee between 2014 and 2016, before joining Kale Group in 2016.

Born in 1980, Mustafa Tan graduated in Economics from Middle East Technical University in 2003.

Tan worked as an Assistant Auditor at PricewaterhouseCoopers from 2003 to 2004 and as an Inspector at the Industrial Development Bank of Türkiye from 2005 to 2008. Between 2008 and 2018, he served in Coca-Cola İçecek’s Internal Audit Department as Internal Audit Specialist, Senior Internal Audit Specialist and Internal Audit Manager. He joined Kale Group in 2018 as Head of Internal Audit.