Özcan Doğu Kaya Announces Candidacy for İKMİB Presidency

Özcan Doğu Kaya Announces Candidacy for İKMİB Presidency Özcan Doğu Kaya, who has served as Vice President in the current management of the Istanbul Chemical Substances and Products Exporters Association (İKMİB) for four years and holds the position of Vice President responsible for Business Development and Technological Advancement at family company Derby Conveyor Belt Industry and Trade Inc., announced his candidacy for the İKMİB presidency in the elections to be held in April 2022. Kaya stated that they will develop sectoral export strategies and will promptly establish a Chemistry Technology Center that will serve as a platform to strengthen accredited testing centers and R&D infrastructure within the association. Özcan Doğu Kaya, currently serving as Vice President in the management of the Istanbul Chemical Substances and Products Exporters Association (İKMİB), which operates under the Turkish Exporters Assembly, announced his candidacy for the association's presidency in the elections scheduled for April 2022. Pointing out that the rules of the game in global trade have changed, Kaya stated that they will strengthen the current structure of the Istanbul Chemical Substances and Products Exporters Association in accordance with the new world order. Kaya emphasized that he is applying for the İKMİB Presidency with an inclusive, participatory, innovative, creative and dynamic management approach that will activate the transformative power of the chemical sector.

"We Will Develop Sectoral Export Strategies"

Stating that they are embarking on a mission to provide multifaceted support to all companies engaged in chemical sector exports, Özcan Doğu Kaya said, "The chemical sector, which encompasses 16 subsectors, creates strong added value for the Turkish economy through production, employment, its multiplier effect on other locomotive sectors and exports. In the wake of the pandemic, supply chain disruptions, logistics and climate crises and digital transformation—all paradigm-shifting changes—we will mobilize all our resources to create chemical sector export strategies suited to the new world order. Chemistry is a sector in which each subsector operates under very different dynamics. We will work separately on each one and create programs aligned with sectoral, innovative, proactive and global vision. We will also restructure our exporters association in parallel with these efforts to enable it to operate more effectively." Kaya said they will develop effective "Sectoral Export Strategies" that will guide all sectors under the İKMİB umbrella, taking into account the new rules of global commerce.

"We Will Operationalize the Chemistry Technology Center Without Delay"

Highlighting the importance of operationalizing the Chemistry Technology Center—which will be a first for Turkey and a model for other sectors—without delay, Özcan Doğu Kaya said, "I believe the Chemistry Technology Center will provide multifaceted added value to our sector. The Chemistry Technology Center, which I have been the originator and executor of since 2016 and which I believe needs to be rapidly implemented to make our sector a stronger player in the global arena, will be operationalized during this term of our association." Kaya stressed that they will establish an "Accredited Testing Center" under the Chemistry Technology Center, noting that one of the sector's priority problems is "testing." íKMİB presidential candidate Özcan Doğu Kaya also stated that by developing projects that will lead the chemical sector's transformation in the digitalized world of the future, they will enable not only our large companies but also our SMEs to play a more active role in e-commerce and e-exports in global markets.

"We Will Develop the Chemical Sector Together with Our Stakeholders"

İKMİB presidential candidate Özcan Doğu Kaya said, "In every step we take, we will listen to all companies and all stakeholders operating in our sector. We will focus on consumer research to better understand consumers. We will increase sectoral synergy through high-participation and productive networking events. We will carry the chemical sector into the future together with all our stakeholders in a spirit of cooperation."

Who Is Özcan Doğu Kaya?

Özcan Doğu Kaya was born in Kastamonu in 1983. He completed his high school education at Robert College and his undergraduate studies in the United States at Carnegie Mellon University with a dual major in Computer Science and Robotics Engineering. Beginning his professional career in Microsoft's Windows Kernel team, Kaya worked as a software engineer for four years. Windows-based computers use code that Kaya rewrote from scratch when loading 'shared code libraries' called DLLs. Returning to Turkey in 2011, Kaya has served as Vice President responsible for Business Development and Technological Advancement at family company Derby Conveyor Belt, which has been operating in the rubber and technical textiles sectors for 11 years. In İKMİB's current term as vice president and in the previous term as a board member, Özcan Doğu Kaya has held various active positions to increase chemical sector exports and has represented the Association on behalf of the president at numerous meetings with government officials, sector representatives and other stakeholders. He took on roles as president, executor and board representative in many organizations including the R&D Project Market, trade fairs, TİM delegations and sectoral delegations, sectoral report studies, first the Rubber Technology Center and then the Chemistry Technology Center. He combined the lessons learned from his father Nurhan Kaya, a sector veteran who served as chairman of the Rubber Association for 16 years, with his meticulous and attentive work style. He gained critical experience in the chemistry field both in his own factory and at İKMİB, İSO, the Rubber Association and ÇTSO. Married with one daughter, Özcan Doğu Kaya speaks English fluently. Kaya pursues strategic board games and amateur astronomy as hobbies.

Non-Governmental Organizations Where Özcan Doğu Kaya Has Served:

2018-2022 İKMİB Vice President 2014-2018 İKMİB Board Member 2021-2022 Rubber Association Vice President 2018-2022 Istanbul Chamber of Industry Rubber Committee Member and Assembly Member 2018-2022 TOBB Industrial Chambers Council Member 2014-2018 Çerkezköy Chamber of Commerce Committee 7 Member, Assembly Member and External Relations Commission Chairman