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

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

. He is best known as the

chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

Koç Holding Koç Holding A.Ş. () is a Turkish multinational industrial conglomerate headquartered in Istanbul, Turkey. It operates as the country's largest company, and the only to be listed on the Fortune Global 500 as of 2024. Koç Holding's contributio ...

, 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 US$2.6 billion. In 2013, Koç was the single highest taxpayer in Turkey, totalling 37.5&nb ...

, 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 Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. 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 ...

in 1980, Mustafa Koç received his

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

business administration Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...

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., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

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 Türk Otomobil Fabrikası A.Ş (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, ...

. Continuing his career as sales manager and later as assistant general manager for Sales at Ram Dış Ticaret, in 1992, he joined

to serve as vice president. Working at Koç Holding, Turkey's largest industrial conglomerate and the only Turkish company listed in

Fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune (magazine), Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States Joint-stock company#Closely held corporations and publicly traded corporations, corporations by ...

, 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 (), is Turkey's top business organization. Founded in 1971, TÜSİAD is a voluntary, independent, non-governmental organization dedicated to promoting public welfare through private enterpris ...

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

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, 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. (stylized as JPMorganChase) is an American multinational finance corporation headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. It is the largest bank in the United States, and the world's largest bank by mar ...

’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, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

government in 2005.

Death and legacy

Mustafa Koç suffered a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

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

Zincirlikuyu Cemetery The Zincirlikuyu Cemetery () is a modern burial ground in the European part of Istanbul, Turkey. It is administered by the Metropolitan Municipality. Many prominent figures from the world of politics, business, sports and arts rest here. The ce ...

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 is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...

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, Windsurfing, windsurfer, or Kitesurfing, kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (Land sa ...

aeromodelling A model aircraft is a physical model of an existing or imagined aircraft, and is built typically for display, research, or amusement. Model aircraft are divided into two basic groups: flying and non-flying. Non-flying models are also termed st ...

and

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

, to

scuba diving Scuba diving is a Diving mode, mode of underwater diving whereby divers use Scuba set, breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface breathing gas supply, and therefore has a limited but variable endurance. The word ''scub ...

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 u ...

. 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; , 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 in the era of the Ottoman Empire in 1908 ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Koc, Mustafa 1960 births People from Ankara Mustafa George Washington University School of Business alumni 21st-century Turkish businesspeople 2016 deaths Burials at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery Alumni of Lyceum Alpinum Zuoz