Demir Sabanci is a Turkish entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and philanthropist. He is the chairman of Sedes Holding and its subsidiaries. His businesses range from the largest personal care market chain in Turkey, to real estate management and development in New York City.
Sabanci is a third generation member of the Sabanci family. Born in 1971 he is a grandson of Haci Omer Sabanci and the only son of
Özdemir Sabancı
Özdemir Sabancı (May 15, 1941 – January 9, 1996) was a Turkish businessman and a second generation member of the Sabancı family.
Biography
He was born in Adana, Turkey. After finishing the high school at the Tarsus American College in Tars ...
, who was murdered by a terrorist attack in 1996 at the headquarters of
Sabancı Holding
Hacı Ömer Sabancı Holding A.Ş., commonly abbreviated as Sabancı Holding, is an industrial and financial conglomerate with headquarters in Istanbul, Turkey. The company's primary activities are in financial services, energy (electricity generat ...
in
Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
,
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
.
Business
Demir Sabanci started his business career in Japan and quickly rose to the executive ranks. He began at Toyota City in 1993 working in various executive positions with Mitsui & Co. and Toyota Motor Corporation. He left Japan and moved to the United States to help lead Toyota Motor Sales.
After leaving Toyota, Sabanci rose through the corporate ranks at a number of companies. In 1996, he joined
Sabanci Holding as a Board Member and three years later, founded Teknosa, the pioneer electronics retail chain in Turkey. Between 1999-2004, Sabanci held various executive positions in Sabanci Holdings while serving as the President of the Retail Strategic Business Unit that is composed of Carrefoursa, Diasa, and Teknosa.
Between 2000 and 2004, he served as founding shareholder and first General Manager and Chairman of Teknosa.
As an entrepreneur and venture capitalist, Sabanci founded and co-founded several companies in Turkey. He is also a founding shareholder and board member of Odesa, Döysa VIP Aviation, and Gratis.
On April 9, 2002, Sabanci launched the company Sedes Holding, a Turkish-based firm that specializes in helping launch new business through venture capital; investment management; and real estate investment.
He is currently the president and chairman of the board.
He also created Sedes Insurance Brokerage and Reinsurance as an additional venture under Sedes Holding.
Education
Sabanci holds a double major in Economics and International Relations from
Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original c ...
. He holds two Masters of Business degrees, one from Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management and the other from
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...
in Global Business Administration.
Philanthropy and community
Sabanci is an active philanthropist with organizations such as the Turkish Health & Education Foundation (SEV).
Sabanci is also an Advisory Council Member of
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to ...
’s
Johnson Business School.
References
External links
Newspaper ''Radikal'' about the sale of his shares
Demir Sabanci
1971 births
Turkish businesspeople
Tarsus American College alumni
Boston University School of Management alumni
Cornell University alumni
Living people
{{Turkey-business-bio-stub