Mustafa Vehbi Koç (October 29, 1960 – January 21, 2016) was a Turkish businessman and a third generation member of the

Koç family The Koç family is a Turkish family of business people founded by Vehbi Koç, one of the wealthiest self-made people in Turkey. His grandsons, the third generation of the Koç family, today run Turkey's largest group of companies, Koç Holding, ...

. He is best known as the chairman of Koç Holding, a position he held from 2003 until his death in 2016.

Private life

Mustafa Koç was born to

Rahmi Koç Mustafa Rahmi Koç (born 9 October 1930) is a Turkish businessman. In 2016, Forbes ranked him No. 906 richest person in the world with a net worth of $2.6 billion. In 2013, he was the Turkish person who paid the most income taxes in his cou ...

, the second-generation patriarch of the

, on October 29, 1960. He had two younger brothers Mehmet Ömer Koç (born 1962) and Ali Yıldırım Koç (born 1967). Graduating from Switzerland’s international boarding high school

Lyceum Alpinum Zuoz Lyceum Alpinum Zuoz is an international boarding school in Zuoz, near St.Moritz in Switzerland. Founded in 1904, it is located in the upper part of the alpine village in the area of Surmulins. There are around 300 pupils, including 220 in the bo ...

in 1980, Mustafa Koç received his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in business administration from

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Chartered in 1821 by the United States Congress, GWU is the largest Higher educat ...

in 1984. Koç was married to Caroline Giraud and was father of two daughters Esra Marianne Çiğdem Koç and Aylin Elif Koç.

Professional career

After graduation, Koç started working as a Consultant at

Tofaş Tofaş (acronym for ''Türk Otomobil Fabrikası Anonim Şirketi''; ''Turkish Automobile Factory Joint-Stock Company'' pronounced ) is a Turkish automobile manufacturer which was established in 1968 by Vehbi Koç, who was the founder of Koç Ho ...

. Continuing his career as sales manager and later as assistant general manager for Sales at Ram Dış Ticaret, in 1992, he joined Koç Holding to serve as vice president. Working at Koç Holding, Turkey's largest industrial conglomerate and the only Turkish company listed in Fortune 500, for all of his career, Koç became a board member in 2001. Assuming the responsibility as vice chairman the following year, he took over the position of chairman from

, his retired father, in 2003. Mustafa Koç was also the chairman for the High Advisory Council to

TÜSİAD TÜSİAD, the Turkish Industry and Business Association ( tr, Türk Sanayicileri ve İş İnsanları Derneği), is Turkey's top business organization. Founded in 1971, TÜSİAD is a voluntary, independent, non-governmental organization dedicated ...

, the Turkish Industry and Business Association, between 2003 until 2015. Between 2006 and 2013, he held office as Honorary Consul for

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, as well as being a member of Council for Foreign Economic Affairs for the Istanbul Chamber of Industry. Koç also held various international positions during his career, including positions in

JP Morgan JPMorgan Chase & Co. is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered in City of New York, New York City and Delaware General Corporation Law, inco ...

’s International Council,

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

International’s Advisory Board, and Bilderberg Meetings’ Executive Board. He was awarded the Cavaliere D’Industria medal by the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

government in 2005.

Death and legacy

Mustafa Koç suffered a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

during a fitness exercise at his home and died on January 21, 2016. He was buried at

Zincirlikuyu Cemetery __NOTOC__ The Zincirlikuyu Cemetery ( tr, Zincirlikuyu Mezarlığı) is a modern burial ground residing on the European part of Istanbul, Turkey. It is administered by the Metropolitan Municipality. Many prominent figures from the world of polit ...

next to his grandfather's grave. A documentary film titled "Dreams and Memories" about the legacy of Mustafa Koç was produced in 2017. He had been a lifelong

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

enthusiast, with his hobbies ranging from

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cou ...

, Aeromodelling and

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

, to

scuba diving Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for " Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chr ...

and

horseback riding Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...

. A sports award named after Mustafa Koç was established in 2017 to honor his memory. Celebrating the ideals and merits of sportsmanship, the "Mustafa V. Koç Sports Award" is judged by the

Turkish Olympic Committee Turkish National Olympic Committee (TNOC) ( tr, Türkiye Milli Olimpiyat Komitesi (TMOK)) is the governing Olympic body of Turkey. It is based in Istanbul. History As one of the oldest National Olympic Committees in the world, TNOC was founded o ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Koc, Mustafa 1960 births People from Ankara

Mustafa Mustafa ( ar, مصطفى , Muṣṭafā) is one of the names of Prophet Muhammad, and the name means "chosen, selected, appointed, preferred", used as an Arabic given name and surname. Mustafa is a common name in the Muslim world. Given name Mou ...

George Washington University School of Business alumni Turkish businesspeople 2016 deaths Burials at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery Alumni of Lyceum Alpinum Zuoz