Board of Directors

Ali İsmail SABANCI serves as the Chairperson of our Board of Directors since January 2005. He previously held several positions at Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated and Akbank T.A.Ş. between 1991 and 1997.He also served as the head of projects of Hacı Ömer Sabancı Holding A.Ş. between 1997 and 2001 and as the executive assistant general manager for strategy and business development between 2001 and 2004. Ali SABANCI serves as Chairperson of the board of directors of Esas Holding and several other Esas Holding Group Companies. He has a master’s degree in Economics and Politics granted by Tufts University and bachelor’s degree in International Finance obtained from Columbia University Business Administration Faculty. He is the Chairman of Young Entrepreneurs Board within the Union of Chambers and Commodities of Turkey and also member to Istanbul Chamber of Industry (ISO) and Turkish-American Business Council (TAIK).

Mehmet T. NANE serves as the Vice-Chairperson of the Board of Directors as of March 2022. He will continue to serve as CEO of Pegasus Airlines until May 1, 2022, a position he served since March 2016. Prior to joining Pegasus Airlines, he served as CEO of CarrefourSA between 2013-2016, as CEO of Teknosa between 2005-2013, and as Vice-Chairman of the Board of Teknosa between 2000-2005. Between 1988-1997 he served in different capacities at the Türkiye Emlak Bankası, Demirbank and Demir Invest. He subsequently joined the Sabancı Group in 1997 and until 2005  Vice President of the Strategic Planning and Project Development department and Director of the Retail Group and General Secretary of Sabancı Holding within the Sabancı Group, which he joined in 1997, until 2005. Mehmet T. NANE served as Founding Chairman of Asia Pacific Retailers Federation (FAPRA), Founding Chairman of the Turkish Federation of Shopping Centers and Retailers (TAMPF), President of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) Retail Council, Chairman of the Board of the SEV Health and Education Foundation, and Chairman of the Association of the Harvard Business School Turkish Alumni Association. He currently serves in various non-governmental organizations, as Board Member and Chair Elect of the Board of Governors of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Chairman of the Board of the Turkish Private Aviation Enterprises Association (TÖSHİD), Vice President of Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) Civil Aviation Council, Vice President of Turkish Tourism Investors Association (TTYD), Member of the Board of Trustees and Board Member of the TOBB GS1 Turkey Foundation, Member of the Board of Trustees of the SEV Health and Education Foundation, Member of the Board of Trustees and Board Member of the Boğaziçi University Foundation. Mehmet T. NANE is a Founding Member of the Yanındayız Association and Women in Technology Association (WTECH), and he joined the PWN Equality Ambassadors as a part of the Manifesto of Gender Equality Supporting CEOs by Professional Women Network (PWN) Istanbul. Mehmet T. NANE graduated from Boğaziçi University, department of International Relations, in Istanbul, in 1990. In 1993, Mehmet T. NANE received a full scholarship for his graduate degree from the department of International Banking and Finance at Heriot Watt University in Scotland. He also completed the Harvard Business School Executive Management Program in 2013.

Mehmet Cem KOZLU serves as non-executive member of our Board of Directors since April 2013. Cem KOZLU served as an independent member of our Board of Directors from 2013 to 2020. Cem KOZLU had been the chairperson of the Board of Directors and CEO at Türk Hava Yolları A.O. between 1988 and 1991 and in 1990 he also served as the chairperson of the Association of European Airlines. After having served as a member of the Turkish Parliament between 1991 and 1995, he took a second term as the chairman of Turkish Airlines between 1997 and 2003. Cem KOZLU held several positions at The Coca-Cola Company between 1996 and 2006 where his last position was the president of the company’s Central Europe, Eurasia and Middle East operations. Since 2006, he has continued to serve as consultant to Coca-Cola Eurasia and Africa Group. Cem KOZLU served as the chairperson of the International Airline Training Fund between 2008 and 2010 and continues to serve as member of board of directors or advisor in various companies. Cem KOZLU holds a bachelor’s degree from Denison University and an MBA degree from Stanford University. He also holds a Ph.D. in administrative sciences from Boğaziçi University.

Zeynep Bodur OKYAY joined Pegasus as a non-executive director on July 14, 2016 and has served as an independent director since October 2016. Since 1992, Zeynep Bodur OKYAY held a number of duties at the Kale Group with investments in ceramics, construction materials, construction chemicals, defense and aviation, machinery, energy, mining, transportation and IT. Having assumed several roles as part of ceramics production planning and production management between 1992 and 1995, she was later appointed as the president and executive committee member of the group’s marketing companies and since 2007, serves as the president and CEO of the Kale Group. Zeynep Bodur OKYAY holds a bachelor’s degree in management engineering obtained from the Istanbul Technical University and has completed the management program master’s degree at Harvard University. Among her active duties assumed in various non-governmental organizations, associations, foundations and chambers, Zeynep Bodur OKYAY serves as the chairperson of the general assembly of the Istanbul Chamber of Industry, vice-chairperson of the Economic Development Foundation, board member of the Foreign Economic Relations Board, member of the board of trustees of the Turkish Education Foundation and vice-chairperson of the female entrepreneurs board of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey.

Stephen Mark GRIFFITHS joined Pegasus as a non-executive member of the Board of Directors on November 11, 2016 and has served as an independent director since January 2017. Between October 2018 – June 2020, Steve GRIFFITHS acted as the Chief Operating Officer and since June 2020, he serves as managing director for London Stansted Airport as part of the Manchester Airport Group, and has considerable executive experience in the aviation sector. Between 2015 and 2017, Steve GRIFFITHS was the Chief Operating Officer of the London Underground. Between 1995 and 2013, Steve GRIFFITHS served in various positions at Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited. Between March 2009 and June 2013, Steve GRIFFITHS was the Chief Operating Officer of Virgin Atlantic, responsible for the safe, efficient and cost-effective delivery of the airline operations and customer service promise, with leadership responsibility for 6,500 employees in flight operations, engineering, airports, cargo, pilots, cabin crew, safety and security and customer experience. Prior to that, Steve GRIFFITHS served as director of engineering between 2007 and 2009 and undertook various senior engineering positions between 1995 and 2007. Between 1986 and 1995, Steve GRIFFITHS served as senior service engineer at Rolls Royce plc.

Agah UĞUR has been serving as an independent member of the Board of Directors since April 2020. Agah UĞUR worked in accountancy, consulting and banking firms in England and Turkey before joining Borusan Group in 1989 as its CFO. He assumed the role of Borusan Holding CEO in 1995; served as the Borusan Group CEO between 2001 and 2018 and he continues to serve as advisor to the chairman and board member at Borusan Holding. Agah UĞUR held and continues to hold several board and advisory board positions in NGOs. Currently he is a member of TUSIAD’s High Advisory Council, a board member at the Turkish American Business Council, member of the Board of Trustees of Sabanci University, member of the advisory council of Bahçeşehir University and member of the advisory board of Columbia University Istanbul Global Center. Agah UĞUR holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering obtained from the University of Birmingham in the U.K. and qualified as chartered accountant in England in 1985.

David F. A. VISMANS has been serving as an independent member of the Board of Directors since March 31, 2022. David VISMANS is a product development executive with an engineering and AI education, having 20 years of experience of leading and scaling global oriented digital products and product organizations on hyper-growth trajectory, in various industries: digital navigation, social networking, e-commerce and travel. Between 2015 and 2021, David VISMANS served as Chief Product Officer for Booking.com, having previously served as Front-End Division Director and Mobile Senior Product Owner between 2012 and 2015. Previously, David VISMANS served as Product Development Director for Telegraaf Media Nederland in 2012, Chief Technology Officer and Head of Development for Hyves, between 2009 and 2012, and Development and Software Manager for Tomtom, between 2004 and 2008. David VISMANS has a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Artificial Intelligence from the University of Amsterdam. David VISMANS is a citizen and resident of Netherlands.

Ayşegül ILDENİZ is serving as an independent Board Member since October 12, 2022. Ayşegül İLDENİZ is a pioneer in innovation, technology transformation and future vision with working experience in the Silicon Valley and Türkiye. She currently serves as a board member in several Turkish companies. Between 2016 and 2018, she served as the Chief Operating Officer for Silver Spring Networks (SSNI), a publicly traded leading technology company focused on internet of things (IoT) and smart energy. SSNI held half of the U.S. smart energy market with more than 26 million subscribers; and transformed leading cities of the world like Singapore, London, Chicago, Paris, Copenhagen and Dubai into smart cities. Ayşegül ILDENİZ oversaw global operations including manufacturing, product management, sales and marketing. Prior to SSNI, between 1998 and 2016, she served in various roles at Intel Corporation; last job being the Vice President for New Devices Group. She was part of a team whose mission was to imagine and create the next wave of computing devices, from wearable devices all the way to boards for kids to create robots. She worked with world’s leading fashion and sports companies as well as IoT start-ups to make future possible. Prior to that, she managed Intel’s Middle East, Turkey and Africa region, covering 67 countries including Turkey, Egypt, South Africa, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. She led global efforts for building and expanding Intel’s business across emerging markets to enrich the lives of people through technology. Ayşe İLDENİZ also worked as country manager for Turkey and marketing manager for META region in her earlier career at Intel. Ayşe İLDENİZ is very active in social work and has served for various international NGOs. Currently, she is the chair of TUSIAD Silicon Valley Network and serves on the board of Turkish Philanthropy Funds. Previously, she served as the vice chair of the Technology Committee for BIAC (The Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD), as board member of the American Turkish Society and led the Technology and Innovation group at TUSIAD. She is the founder of Women in IT Platform in Turkey. Ayşegül İLDENİZ is also a 2010 Eisenhower fellow. Ayşegül İLDENİZ received several awards and honors for her social work on digital divide. In 2015, she was listed as one of the top 100 most creative person in business by Fast Company magazine. She was also awarded as the third most influential Turkish-American woman by Turks of America magazine. Other honors include prestigious “Betül Mardin Leaders Shaping the Future Award” in 2016 by TUHİD (Turkish Public Relations Association); and an honorary appreciation award by Middle East Technical University Senate in Ankara. Ayşegül İLDENİZ holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Bosphorus University and a master’s degree in Electronic Communications Arts from San Francisco State University, California.