Senior Appointment at Yıldız Holding: Ali Sözen Appointed COO

Yıldız Holding has made an important appointment to its leadership team in line with sustainable and strong growth objectives. Ali Sözen, who brings over 35 years of experience in the food and fast-moving consumer goods sectors across Turkey and international markets, has taken office as Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Yıldız Holding.

Mehmet Tütüncü, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Yıldız Holding, made the following remarks regarding the appointment:

"I am pleased that Ali Sözen, with whom we have worked in the past, is joining us again through this appointment made in line with our sustainable and strong growth objectives. As COO, I believe he will take our operational excellence approach even further and will make valuable contributions to the Holding's long-term strategic goals. I wish Ali Sözen success in his new role."

Ali Sözen will lead the strengthening of operational excellence across Yıldız Holding and reinforce a performance-driven management approach. He will also assume responsibility for effective management of budget and performance processes, and will play an active role in developing new projects and conducting strategic assessments in line with sustainable growth objectives.

Sözen began his career at MetLife and held senior positions at Coca-Cola Beverages and Yaşar Group. After serving as National Sales Director in Nigeria at Coca-Cola, he held the positions of Vice President of the Food and Beverage Group and Vice President of the Food and Dairy Products Group at Yıldız Holding between 2011 and 2015. Since 2015, Sözen has served as CEO of Lactalis Turkey. He is a graduate of Istanbul Technical University's Industrial Engineering Department and completed his MBA at the University of Toledo.