Turkish Airlines overhauls leadership, appoints Prof Seker Board chairman, Olmuştur CEO

Turkish Airlines has implemented changes in its executive management structure. In line with the airline’s corporate objectives, new appointments have been made to the Board of Directors and to the CEO position.

Prof. Murat Şeker, who has served in critical roles for many years, including finance, treasury, and investor relations, as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at the national flag carrier, has been appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of Turkish Airlines.

Şeker, who earned his undergraduate degree in Industrial Engineering from Marmara University in 2000, received his Master’s Degree in Economics from Sabancı University and his PhD in Economics from the University of Minnesota.

Continuing his career with key roles in the international arena, Prof. Şeker participated in various operational projects and was responsible for producing policy reports and academic studies on innovation, entrepreneurship, international trade, and growth in developing countries during his tenure as an Economist at the World Bank from 2008 to 2013.

Between 2013 and 2016, he worked at Ziraat Bank as Senior Vice President of the Financial Institutions and Investor Relations Department, where he was responsible for international funding and for managing relationships with all financial institutions and investors.

During this period, Şeker also served as a Board Member of the Ziraat Investment, Ziraat Private Pension, and Ziraat Insurance subsidiaries.

He was appointed Chief Financial Officer of Turkish Airlines in July 2016, where he was responsible for finance, treasury operations, accounting, procurement, and investor relations.

He has served as a Member of the Board and the Executive Committee of Turkish Airlines since March 2021. He also serves as a Board Member of Turkish Technic and SunExpress.

He has been a member of the Financial Advisory Council established by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) since 2024 and has served as its Chair since 2025.

This council advises the IATA Board of Directors and all related bodies on policy issues concerning financial services.

Being actively engaged in the academic field, Prof. Şeker lectured as a part-time instructor at Boğaziçi University from 2015 to 2018 and was awarded the title of Professor in December 2025. He is married and has three children.

As part of this executive management change at Turkish Airlines, Ahmet Olmuştur, who has been responsible for the company’s strategic sales and marketing operations for many years as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Turkish Airlines.

 Born in Istanbul in 1980, Ahmet Olmuştur completed his undergraduate studies in Business Administration at Marmara University and received his MBA through an international program conducted in collaboration with Long Island University (New York), European Business School (London), and Pôle Universitaire Léonard de Vinci (Paris).

Olmuştur’s career journey began in 2000 as a part-time employee at Turkish Airlines’ Call Centre.

Building on his experience at one of the airline’s key contact points, he has achieved exemplary success, culminating in his rise to the executive management position at the national flag carrier.

Having begun his professional career with a part-time position at Turkish Airlines Call Centre in 2000, he continued his career at the airline as a Flight Analyst in the Directorate of Revenue Management.

In the following years, Olmuştur held various critical positions within the same department, including Manager of Global Distribution Systems, Manager of Revenue Management and Pricing, and Senior Vice President of Revenue Management.

Since 2014, Ahmet Olmuştur served as Chief Marketing and Sales Officer, and since 2024, he has led the company’s commercial operations as Chief Commercial Officer.

Wole Shadare