CoinTR's board of directors passed the following appointments on October 9, 2023:
Appointment of key personnel:
Mr. ALİ EŞELİOĞLU was appointed as the company's CEO for the duration of the current board term, effective from October 9, 2023. Mr. ŞAKİR ERCAN GÜL was appointed as the Chairman of the Board, while Mr. ERGÜN AKINCI and Mr. MEHMET EMİN KARAAĞAÇ were appointed as board members, with their terms in office commencing from the date of approval by the shareholders' meeting until the end of the current board term. Mr. Yakup Demir was appointed as the company's Compliance Manager, with his term in office starting from the date of approval by the shareholders' meeting until the end of the current board term, effective from October 9, 2023.
Sakir Ercan Gul | CoinTR Chairman of the Board
Born in 1967 in Erzurum, Gul previously served as the Deputy Minister of Finance and Finance Monitoring, bringing with him extensive experience in finance and management. He graduated from the Ankara University Faculty of Political Sciences, specializing in Business Administration, and later obtained his master's degree from Maltepe University and a Ph.D. from Marmara University. He began his career at T.Halk Bankası A.Ş as a financial auditor, later working in areas such as fund management, corporate management, and financial management. From 2004 to 2017, he served as the second chairman of TMSF (Savings Deposit Insurance Fund), eventually becoming the chairman. Over the following years, he became a board member of Aydın Holding, a board member of the Islamic Development Bank, and the chairman of the Eximbank board. From 2021 to 2023, Gul served as the Deputy Minister of Finance and Finance Monitoring, demonstrating his leadership in the financial industry. Gul's years of financial and management experience will bring valuable contributions to CoinTR.
Ali Eselioglu | CoinTR CEO
Born in 1974 in Adana, Ali Eşelioğlu graduated from the Department of Statistics at Yıldız Technical University and received his MBA degree from Yeditepe University. Mr. Eşelioğlu is currently working on his PhD thesis at Gebze Technical University.
Mr. Eşelioğlu worked in Fund Management and Treasury Marketing management at ESBANK Istanbul and ESBANK Vienna. After working as Financial Affairs Manager at ATV-Sabah Media Group and Assistant General Manager at DenizBank subsidiaries between 2005 and 2009, he then served as Finance and Customer Risk Director at Doğan TV Holding within Kanal D, CNN TÜRK media group between 2009 and 2018. After working as CFO at Saray Halı A.Ş., Mr. Eşelioğlu served as Assistant General Manager of Budget and Financial Reporting and then Assistant General Manager of Markets at the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye for the last 2.5 years.
Ali Eşelioğlu, whose professional training includes Gold Reserve Management at Central Banks, Competition Law, IFRS, Leadership, Effective Management, Communication, and Teamwork, serves as a Board Member and the CEO of CoinTR, a cryptocurrency exchange.
Mr. Eşelioğlu worked in Fund Management and Treasury Marketing management at ESBANK Istanbul and ESBANK Vienna. After working as Financial Affairs Manager at ATV-Sabah Media Group and Assistant General Manager at DenizBank subsidiaries between 2005 and 2009, he then served as Finance and Customer Risk Director at Doğan TV Holding within Kanal D, CNN TÜRK media group between 2009 and 2018. After working as CFO at Saray Halı A.Ş., Mr. Eşelioğlu served as Assistant General Manager of Budget and Financial Reporting and then Assistant General Manager of Markets at the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye for the last 2.5 years.
Ali Eşelioğlu, whose professional training includes Gold Reserve Management at Central Banks, Competition Law, IFRS, Leadership, Effective Management, Communication, and Teamwork, serves as a Board Member and the CEO of CoinTR, a cryptocurrency exchange.
Dr. Ergun Akıncı | CoinTR Board Member
Born in 1974 in Hersbruck, Germany, Akıncı currently serves as the Chief Advisor to the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkiye. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics. Akıncı began his career in 2000, initially working as a financial advisor at Deutsche Bank in the Nuremberg area. During his time there, he provided consultancy services to Turkish clients for three years and received multiple awards. In 2004, he served as a board consultant at Deutsche Bank's market department. From 2005 to 2007, he was a board member for Deutsche Bank's target client financial concept "BANKAMIZ" in Turkiye, serving as the board chairman from 2007 to 2018. During this period, he focused on various areas, including banking strategy, market control, cooperation, and risk management. From 2018 to 2022, he served as a senior advisor at Q2Q Capital, based in Dubai, managing strategic relationships between Q2Q Capital and government agencies, European banks, and private organizations. Since 2022, he has been serving as the Chief Advisor at the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkiye.
Mehmet Emin Karaagac | CoinTR Board Member
Born in 1963 in Konya, Karaagac previously served as the Deputy General Manager of Vakıflar at the Central Bank of Turkiye. Karaagac graduated from the Istanbul University Faculty of Law in 1986. He began his career at Türkiye İş Bankası A.Ş. as a lawyer, where he worked in various positions for 23 years and served as the legal advisor for the Istanbul region. He later joined Türkiye Vakıflar Bankası T.A.O. as the Chief Legal Advisor, and subsequently as the Deputy General Manager, overseeing the legal tracking processes of the bank and managing the legal department. In addition, he served as a board member of Vakıfbank Gayrimenkul Yatırım A.Ş. and a board member of the Credit Registry Office. Currently, the chairman and general manager of Turkiye's Raintrade Petrokimya ve Dış Ticaret A.Ş. Karaagac's experiences reflect his extensive knowledge and expertise in the fields of law and management.
Yakup Demir | CoinTR Compliance Manager
Born in 1954, Demir previously served as the director of the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency of Turkey. He graduated from the Middle East Technical University's Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences in 1980. From 1981 to 1983, he began his career at the International Economic Cooperation Organization within the Financial Administration of the Turkish Ministry of Finance, serving as a financial commissioner. From 1983 to 2000, he held various positions, including Foreign Trade Specialist at the Finance Ministry of Treasury, and branch manager for "Bank Establishment and Liquidation Procedures" at the Prime Minister's Ministry of Finance and Foreign Trade, he served as the economic and trade counselor at the Bahrain Embassy and held the position of chief advisor. From 2002 to 2004, he served as a board member at TMSF subsidiary company Interaktif Telekominikasyon Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş. From 2000 to 2019, he was the head of the Institutional Authorization and Licensing Procedures Office at the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) in Turkey. He later continued to serve as a department head at TMSF Savings Deposit Insurance Fund.
With nearly 28 years of experience in the financial market, ALİ EŞELİOĞLU's understanding of blockchain technology and traditional finance will continue to drive the company's business and service development. ALİ EŞELİOĞLU stated, "It is an honor to become the CEO of CoinTR and lead the industry's most exceptional product and security technology team. I look forward to working with the team in my new role to truly establish CoinTR as a globally competitive Turkish exchange."
As a seasoned senior official in the regulatory department, Mr. YAKUP DEMİR stated, "The compliant development of cryptocurrency exchanges is crucial to ensuring the safety of user assets and the healthy development of the industry. CoinTR has already cooperated with two state-owned banks in Turkiye and is under the supervision of MASAK. In the future, we will invest more funds and time to strengthen cooperation with regulatory authorities and jointly promote the healthy development of the industry."
ŞAKİR ERCAN GÜL commented, "Turkiye, as one of the largest cryptocurrency markets globally, has been slow but steady in its development. The government has actively explored the technological application of blockchain and the compliant development of cryptocurrencies, providing a solid foundation for the industry's development. As a compliant exchange in Turkiye, CoinTR has maintained a cooperative attitude and hopes to work with outstanding global industry partners to promote the development of the Turkish blockchain industry.
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