Mr. Kutman is Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and Group Co-Founder, having served as Chairman of GPH since April 2012. He has been reappointed to the Board at each annual general meeting of GPH since 2017 to serve until the following year’s annual general meeting. Mr. Kutman is Chairman and a founding shareholder of GIH. In addition to his active involvement in business development and project management for the Group on a transaction-by-transaction basis, Mr. Kutman is Chairman of the Boards of Directors of GPH Cruise Port Finance Ltd., Barcelona Cruise Port Creuers Terminals, Bodrum Cruise Port and Nassau Cruise Port, and former Chairman of the Board of Directors of GLI. He is a member of TUSIAD (Turkish Industry & Business Association) and DEIK (Foreign Economic Relations Board) and a former Director of Alarko REIT, a BIST – listed real estate investment trust. Prior to founding securities firm Global Menkul Değerler A.Ş. (or GMD) in 1990, Mr. Kutman was Project Manager at Net Holding A.Ş., a Turkish corporate group involved in tourism and related sectors, from 1989 to 1990. Between 1984 and 1989, he resided in the United States, where he served as Vice President of North Carolina National Bank, Sexton Roses Inc. and Philip Bush & Associates. Mr. Kutman holds a BA (Hons.) degree from Boğaziçi University and an MBA from the University of Texas. Mr. Kutman also actively endows Yale University’s brain tumour research program through the Gregory M. Kiez and Mehmet Kutman Foundation.
Mrs. Bensel is Non-Executive Vice Chairperson. She has served as a member of the Board since April 2017 and has been re-elected annually. She is also a member of the Boards of Directors of GLI, GPH CPF, Barcelona Cruise Port Creuers Terminals, Valletta Cruise Port, Ege Port (Kuşadası), Bodrum Cruise Port, Nassau Cruise Port, Antigua Cruise Port and Global Ports Americas Holding Limited. Mrs. Bensel is a member of the Board of Directors of GIH and was Managing Director of its Real Estate Division and Chairperson of Pera REIT Company until 2020. Previously, until the sale of Global Hayat in 2005, Mrs. Bensel was Chairperson of its Board of Directors and its CEO. Mrs. Bensel was formerly a member of the Board of Directors of GMD where, between 1993 and 1999, she was Assistant Director and then Co-Director of Research. Prior to joining GMD as an equity research analyst in 1991, Mrs. Bensel was a manager in foreign exchange dealings in the Turkish banking sector. Mrs. Bensel is a member of the Company’s Remuneration Committee and its Nomination Committee. Mrs. Bensel holds a BA in Business Administration and Finance from Hacettepe University, Ankara.
Mr. Bayle is an Independent Non-Executive Director. He has served as a member of the Board since April 2017 and has been re-elected annually, and he is also a member of the Board of Directors of GPH CPF. Over the course of 32 years, Mr. Bayle held top executive positions in various countries for Tetra Pak. As the former Managing Director of Tetra Pak Turkey he was responsible for developing operations in Turkey and regions including Central Asia and the Caucasus. He also worked in the Balkans. After retiring from Tetra Pak, Mr. Bayle established Magnetic North, a management consulting firm providing mentoring and consulting services to large multinational companies in the greater Middle East region, with a particular emphasis on human resources, organizational processes and development. Mr. Bayle received numerous awards during his professional career and has been recognised for his many contributions to business and social organisations. Mr. Bayle is Chairman of the Company’s Nomination Committee, its Remuneration Committee and its Audit and Risk Committee. Mr. Bayle holds a Master’s degree in Business and Finance from France’s Dauphine Université. He is also an alumnus of the Swiss Business School İMD.
Mr. Ergül is a Non-Executive Director. Mr. Ergül was first appointed to the Board on 11 April 2017 and has been re-elected annually. He is also a member of the Boards of Directors of GLI, GPH CPF, Global Ports Destination Services Ltd. and Bodrum Cruise Port. Mr. Ergül has spent his career as a private equity and investment banking professional, beginning in the corporate credit group of Citibank in Turkey in 1993, and is also involved in the management of a private equity fund with investments in Turkey and the Balkan countries. Mr. Ergül is a member of the Company’s Audit and Risk Committee. He holds an undergraduate degree from the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey, and an MBA degree with a concentration in Finance from the University of Florida.