Cem Karakaş is a Turkish businessman and a partner in Afendis Capital Management, a specialist investor in European food and pharmaceutical special situations. He was formerly the founding

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of global biscuit, chocolate and confectionery company,

pladis pladis Global (styled as pladis) is a British confectionery and snack foods company encompassing United Biscuits, Ülker, Godiva Chocolatier and DeMet's Candy Company. It was formed in January 2016 as a subsidiary of Yıldız Holding with its ...

and Executive Deputy Chairman of pladis’s parent company, Yildiz Holding. Karakaş held several executive roles at Yildiz Holding, where he was credited with the acquisitions of DeMet's Candy Company and

United Biscuits United Biscuits (UB) is a British multinational food manufacturer, makers of McVitie's biscuits, Jacob's Cream Crackers, and Twiglets. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. In ...

as well as leading the IPO of Bizim, and the overseeing the restructuring and secondary public offering of

Ülker Ülker is a Turkish multinational food and beverage manufacturer based in Istanbul, Turkey. Its products are exported internationally, to 110 countries. Ülker's core products are biscuits, cookies, crackers, and chocolates, although it has ex ...

Early life and education

Karakaş received a bachelor's degree from

Middle East Technical University Middle East Technical University (commonly referred to as METU; in Turkish language, Turkish, ''Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi'', ODTÜ) is a prestigious public university, public Institute of technology, technical university located in Ankara, ...

and a master's degree in Finance Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and a PhD in Finance from

Istanbul University Istanbul University, also known as University of Istanbul (), is a Public university, public research university located in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded by Mehmed II on May 30, 1453, a day after Fall of Constantinople, the conquest of Constantinop ...

. He also attended American Institute of Baking.

Career

In 2001, Karakaş joined the OYAK Group, a large Turkish institutional investor and fund management entity, where he served as a general manager and head of the groups mergers and acquisitions department. Following the acquisition of the Erdemir Group by OYAK, Karakaş was named CFO of Erdemir in 2006. In 2010, Karakaş joined Yildiz Holding as CFO and a board member. He joined the board of

Godiva Lady Godiva (; died between 1066 and 1086), in Old English , was a late Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who is relatively well documented as the wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and a patron of various churches and monasteries. She is mainly remembere ...

in 2012, and was named CEO of Transformation and Non-food Business of Yildiz in 2013. Karakaş began serving as a board member of United Biscuits in 2014 and was named Executive Deputy Chairman of Yildiz Holding in 2015. As Executive Deputy Chairman of Yildiz Holding, Karakaş managed the integration of over 20 baked goods and confectionery businesses into the company, which led to the listing of Ulker on

Borsa Istanbul The Borsa İstanbul (abbreviated as BIST) is the sole exchange entity of Turkey combining the former Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE) (), the Istanbul Gold Exchange () and the Derivatives Exchange of Turkey () under one umbrella. It was establishe ...

, Turkey’s stock exchange. He is also credited with leading the IPO of Bizim Toptam and the acquisition of DeMet's Candy and United Biscuits. Karakaş also led Turkey’s largest bread business, Uno, and managed the acquisition and integration of Yildiz’s retail arm. In 2016, Karakaş became the founding CEO of

Pladis pladis Global (styled as pladis) is a British confectionery and snack foods company encompassing United Biscuits, Ülker, Godiva Chocolatier and DeMet's Candy Company. It was formed in January 2016 as a subsidiary of Yıldız Holding with its ...

, a new company created by Yildiz Holding to consolidate its core biscuit and confectionery businesses. The company combines Godiva, the international premium chocolate brand with a heritage of over 90 years, McVitie’s, a global biscuit brand with a heritage of 180 years in the UK and Europe, Ulker, a biscuit and confectionery brand in Turkey and the Middle East with a heritage of over 70 years, and DeMet's Candy Company, known for its Flipz and Turtle brands, especially in the U.S. The company has operations in 180 countries across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the Americas with 34 factories in 13 countries employing over 20,000 people. In September 2018, Karakaş stepped down from his role at pladis for sabbatical In 2019, he founded Afendis Capital Management, a specialist investor in European food and pharmaceutical special situations. Throughout his career, Karakaş has led around 150 mergers, acquisitions and corporate restructurings.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Karakaş, Cem 1974 births Living people Istanbul University alumni Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni Middle East Technical University alumni Turkish chief executives Yıldız Holding