Ayşe Selen KOCABAŞ
Director (Independent)
Selen Kocabaş began her career at the end of 1992 as a Management Trainee (MT) at the Koç Group, and subsequently held various managerial positions at Arçelik, Marshall Boya, Group Danone, and DanoneSa (a joint venture between Sabancı and Danone). She joined the Turkcell family at the end of 2002 as a Vice President. Throughout her 13-year tenure, she undertook various Vice President roles. Following her responsibilities over Human Resources, Real Estate & Construction, General Administrative Affairs, IT, Legal, Procurement, and Strategic Planning functions, she managed the Corporate Business division from 2009 to 2015. She assumed full P&L responsibility by managing operations across Marketing, Product, Sales, and Service, leading this division for 5 years. She played pivotal roles in Turkcell's transformation story from a GSM operator into a technology and infrastructure corporation. Leaving the Turkcell Group in May 2015, Kocabaş also undertook various Board of Directors membership roles within Turkcell subsidiaries during this period (including İnteltek, known for the İddaa brand; international operations under Astelit; Global Bilgi Call Center; and Turkcell Teknoloji).
She became the first Female President of PERYÖN (People Management Association of Turkey), the oldest non-governmental organization in Turkey. She also became the first corporate founding member representing her company at TEİD (Ethics and Reputation Society), as well as a member of TKYD (Corporate Governance Association of Turkey) and TÜSİAD (Turkish Industry and Business Association). She is a Founding Board Member of the Women on Board Association Turkey and the YenidenBiz Association, Co-Chair of the YenidenBiz Association as of 2024, and a Board Member of SEDEFED (Federation of Industrial Associations). Additionally, she is a Founding Member of Wtech (Women in Technology Association), and an Advisory Board Member and mentor at Endeavor Turkey.
She provides Strategic Management Consultancy services to Boards of Directors and Corporate Managements. She has been one of the Founding Partners of the Mentoro Platform since 2015. Between 2016 and 2022, she served as an Independent Board Member of Akiş GYO, one of the companies under the umbrella of Akkök Holding, where she chaired the Risk Committee and served as a member of the Audit Committee. Subsequently, she held the roles of Independent Board Member, Chair of the Corporate Governance Committee, Chair of the Ethics Committee, and Member of the Audit Committee at Tekfen Holding between 2023 and 2025; and served as a Board Member, Corporate Governance Committee Member, and Finance Committee Member at MultinetUp between 2015 and 2026. She also served as an Advisory Board Member at Simit Sarayı between 2015 and 2018, and at Yorglass between 2020 and 2021. Currently, she serves as an Independent Board Member and Chair of the Audit Committee at Tat Gıda; an Independent Board Member and Chair of the Corporate Governance Committee at Kocaer Çelik; an Advisory Board Member at Aydın Perakende (English Home & Eve Shop) since 2018; and a Family Board Consultant and Board Member at Aydın Group.
Kocabaş graduated from Istanbul University with a degree in Economics (English program) and completed her postgraduate studies in Human Management and Organizational Behavior at Marmara University. She completed the Executive Education Corporate Strategy Program at Harvard University. In 2025, she graduated from INSEAD, one of the world's most influential business schools, after completing the Independent Board Directors program. She speaks English and French.
