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Who is Ilker Ayci ?
Mehmet Ilker Ayci is a Turkish tycoon who is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director (MD) of Air India (from April 2022). Previously, he was the Chairman of Turkish Airlines from 2015 to 2022 and was also on its Board of Directors.
Ilker Ayci's life and education
Born in Istanbul in 1971, Ayci has also been an advisor to the country's current President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, when the latter was the Mayor of the city in 1994. Ilker Ayci is married to lawyer and sports commentator Tugce Saatman Ayci.
He graduated from the Department of Political Science and Public Administration and is fluent in Turkish, English and Russian. Ayci belongs to the 1994 batch of Bilkent University.
A year later, he continued his education with a research stay in political science from the Leeds University in the UK. In 1995, he completed his Master's in international relations from the Marmara University in Istanbul in 1997.
Career
During his career, he held several positions with the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and served as the CEO of several insurance companies. In January 2011, he took over as the President of the Prime Ministry Investment Support and Promotion Agency of Turkey.
In 2013, he was appointed Vice-President of the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies of which he later became the Chairman and served till 2015.