Ferit Şahenk (, born 1964) is the chairman of Doğuş Group and one of the richest people in Turkey.

Background

Şahenk graduated from The American School in Switzerland (TASIS) and earned his B.A. from

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

with a degree in Marketing and Human Resources in 1989. After graduation, Şahenk returned to

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, where his father, Ayhan Şahenk (1929–2001), sent him to apprentice at Doğuş' Garanti Bank. After eight years he moved to the holding company, and beginning in 1998, he has acquired two food retail chains and operated NTV by funding the expansion by selling part of the group's Garanti Bank to the public. Understanding that top talent is essential to running a diverse group, he also created a recruitment division, Humanitas. Revenues for 1999 at privately held Doğuş Group hit $5.7 billion. In May 2000, he instituted centralized back-office operations for Doğuş' multiple banks and is doing the same for its auto dealerships. To its banking business, Şahenk added leasing, insurance and cashback reward schemes like those of

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in the United States – financial services still uncommon in Turkey at the time. Ferit is married to Diane Sahenk and they have a daughter named Defne. Also his cousin Melis Şahenk is a designer. Ferit donated 3 million CHF to his alma mater The American School in Switzerland (TASIS) in order to help creating the Ferit Sahenk Fine Arts Center.

The new head of Doğuş Holdings

He attended the Owner/President Program at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. At the age of 37, Şahenk took over his father's Doğuş ''(pronounced DOUGH-oosh, literally "birth" in Turkish)'' Holding after Ayhan Şahenk died of a heart attack in April 2001. The net worth of the Şahenk conglomerate is around

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

2.5 billion, with a turnover for 2005 of US$6 billion, employing about 18,000 people. He relinquished some control of the Garanti Bank, selling a quarter of the country's third largest bank to

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...

for $1.6 billion in 2004, which was regarded as an important step towards greater

liberalization Liberalization or liberalisation (British English) is a broad term that refers to the practice of making laws, systems, or opinions less severe, usually in the sense of eliminating certain government regulations or restrictions. The term is used ...

in the Turkish banking sector, which had been severely affected by the 2001 economic crisis. Ntv-Van Media for sales

He also runs Turkish media properties capturing more than 10 per cent of country's advertising market. The flattering of the government and Turkish PM with his media company has been widely criticized and protested against by Turkish citizens. Bankrolled ''Gallipoli'', a film about the Turkish military battle against the Allied offensive. On 28 January 2006, Şahenk held a reception during the

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meeting in

Davos, Switzerland Davos (, ; or ; ; Old ) is an Alpine resort town and municipality in the Prättigau/Davos Region in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It has a permanent population of (). Davos is located on the river Landwasser, in the Rhaetian Al ...

. In May 2006, Şahenk was elected chairman of the executive board of the Turkish-U.S. Business Council, a Turkish business group that promotes trade and business relationships between the two countries. Ferit is a Fenerbahçe fan, and has been a board member during Aziz Yıldırım’s presidency between 2000 and 2002. He also sponsored

Moussa Sow Moussa Sow (born 19 January 1986) is a former professional association football, footballer who played as a forward (association football), forward. Born in France, he represented Senegal national football team, Senegal at international level, s ...

transfer for the club.

References

External links

Official website
of

Doğuş Holding Doğuş () is a Turkish name and may refer to: * Doğuş Balbay, Turkish basketball player * Doğuş Holding, one of the top three largest private-sector conglomerates in Turkey * Doğuş University, private university in İstanbul See also * ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sahenk, Ferit 1964 births Living people Date of birth unknown Turkish businesspeople Turkish billionaires People from Niğde Turkish mass media owners Ferit Fenerbahçe S.K. board members Harvard University alumni Carroll School of Management alumni