iyzico Management

Orkun Saitoğlu has been serving as CEO of iyzico since August 2022. From 2014 to 2022, he held the role of COO, leading the company’s sales, marketing, and operations teams. A key driver of iyzico’s vision to become a regional leader and deliver next-generation financial solutions to individuals and businesses, Saitoğlu previously held roles at PayPal as Sales Engineer, Integration Manager, and Entrepreneurship Lead, contributing to the growth of the international payments industry. He is a graduate of Galatasaray High School and holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Montpellier and a master’s degree in Computer Engineering from Sorbonne University.

Gautam Ujwal Thakar completed his undergraduate degree in Commerce at Sydenham College and earned his MBA from IIM Lucknow. He began his career in 1996 as a Brand Manager at Procter & Gamble and went on to hold various leadership roles in marketing and general management at global companies such as eBay and Disney. He has served as CEO multiple times across industry-leading companies in the shopping, entertainment, and sports sectors, including Shopping.com, LivingSocial, and Star Sports. In 2021, he joined the Prosus Group as CEO of OLX Autos, and since 2023, he has been serving as the CEO of Prosus Edtech and Global Operating Partner.

Kıvanç Derinalp graduated from Istanbul University’s Business Administration Department and completed his MBA at Yeditepe University. He has held financial control and CFO roles at companies such as Ernst & Young, Areva T&D, Alstom Grid, GE Lighting, and VeriFone. Since 2022, he has been serving as Chief Financial Officer at iyzico.

Erdost Pehlivan graduated from Marmara University Faculty of Law and earned his master’s degree in International Trade and Commercial Law from the University of Manchester in the UK. He also holds an executive MBA certificate in e-commerce from Harvard Business School. He began his legal career at Paksoy and White & Case, focusing on mergers and acquisitions, corporate law, and IPOs. In 2011, he joined Prosus-affiliated companies in Türkiye as Legal Counsel and Executive Committee Member. In 2013, he began providing legal advisory in the fintech space with the establishment of PayU Türkiye, another Prosus company. Following iyzico’s acquisition by the Prosus Group in 2019, Pehlivan was appointed as a Board Member at iyzico, where he currently serves as the Independent Board Member responsible for Legal and Compliance.

Orkun Saitoğlu has been serving as CEO of iyzico since August 2022. From 2014 to 2022, he held the role of COO, leading the company’s sales, marketing, and operations teams. A key driver of iyzico’s vision to become a regional leader and deliver next-generation financial solutions to individuals and businesses, Saitoğlu previously held roles at PayPal as Sales Engineer, Integration Manager, and Entrepreneurship Lead, contributing to the growth of the international payments industry. He is a graduate of Galatasaray High School and holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Montpellier and a master’s degree in Computer Engineering from Sorbonne University.

Şebnem Dağ Güven graduated from Boğaziçi University with a degree in Economics, then earned both an MBA and MSF from the Carroll Graduate School of Management. She began her career in the U.S. in strategy consulting, and between 2007–2010, took on key roles in strategic planning, marketing strategy, and customer management at Deloitte Consulting Services Turkey. From 2010 to 2022, she played an active role in corporate strategy and digital payment transformation at Akbank as Head of Strategy and later Head of Payment Systems. She also served as a board member of AkÖde during this time. Güven joined iyzico in May 2022 and has been serving as Chief Commercial Officer since August 2022, leading the strategy, sales, marketing, business development, and ecosystem management functions.

Kıvanç Derinalp graduated from Istanbul University’s Business Administration Department and completed his MBA at Yeditepe University. He has held financial control and CFO roles at companies such as Ernst & Young, Areva T&D, Alstom Grid, GE Lighting, and VeriFone. Since 2022, he has been serving as Chief Financial Officer at iyzico.

Onur Doğruer holds a bachelor's degree in Geological Engineering from Middle East Technical University and completed MBA programs at Bilkent University and the University of Southern Denmark. He also attended Harvard Business School’s “Scaling Entrepreneurial Ventures” program to enhance his leadership skills and focus on entrepreneurship strategies. He gained experience in digital product management at Finansbank and Garanti Payment Systems. Doğruer joined iyzico in 2020 and currently serves as Chief Product Officer.

Şamil Nevruz graduated from Istanbul University’s Department of Economics and earned his master’s degree in Network Systems from Swinburne University of Technology. He began his career in 1997 at Siemens Nixdorf and has held leadership roles in IT infrastructure and technology at companies like iSelect, SC3 Data Center, and Huawei. He joined iyzico in 2019 and currently leads the technology teams as Chief Technology Officer.

Erinç Ürgüplü graduated from Istanbul Aydın University’s Faculty of Communication, majoring in Advertising. He began his career as an Advertising Specialist at Milliyet newspaper. After working in Risk and Fraud Management at GittiGidiyor, he joined iyzico in 2013 and has held various operational roles. Since October 2022, he has been serving as Chief Operations Officer.

Orhan Alpar Güler graduated from Ankara University with a degree in Business Administration and completed a master’s in Economic Law at Bilkent University. He served for 14 years in the Audit Department of the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT), most recently as Chief Inspector. During his time at the CBRT, he conducted audits for banks, payment, and e-money institutions, and was also involved in internal audits and investigations. Güler holds Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), and Capital Markets Information Systems Independent Auditor licenses. Since 2023, he has been serving at iyzico as Head of Risk and Internal Control.