Sabancı University Business School Graduate Programs Alumni Reunion was held in Sakıp Sabancı Museum Gallery Conference Hall on 26 November, Tuesday.
The keynote Speaker, Mr. Cenk Alper, CEO of Sabancı Holding shared his experience on “Being a Leader”. The reunion brought together alumni and current students from Executive MBA, full-time MBA, Masters in Finance, PhD, MSc in Business Analytics and Professional MBA programs.The event ended with inspiring discussions and networking opportunities among students, alumni, faculty and advisory board members.
Alumni Reunion 2018 for Sabancı Graduate Business School Graduate Programs in Sakıp Sabancı Museum
Sabancı Graduate Business School Graduate Alumni Gathering was held on 20 November, Tuesday in Sakıp Sabancı Museum. We welcomed Mr. Şerif Kaynar, Honorary Chairman at Korn Ferry, as our guest speaker. Mr. Kaynar shared her insights about the importance of evaluating career opportunities and the network in business life.
Sabancı Graduate Business School Graduate Alumni Gathered in Sakıp Sabancı Museum
Sabancı Graduate Business School Graduate Alumni Gathering was held on 23 November, Thursday in Sakıp Sabancı Museum. We welcomed Mrs. Canan Özsoy, CEO of General Electric Turkey, as our guest speaker. Mrs.Özsoy shared her insights about innovation, globalization and economic situation of Turkey with our alumni from different sectors of the business world.
Annual Workshop on Business Analytics
SBS, has been the owner of first Annual Workshop on Business Analytics.
Sabanci Business School organized the first Annual Workshop on Business Analytics. The workshop took place in November 13th, 2017 at Cinema Hall.
The opening speech or workshop was made by Füsun Ülengin, the Dean of Sabancı Business School. She started her speech by saying that the Business Analytics which includes statistics, mathematics, econometrics, simulations and optimization tools to improve commercial institutions’ decision making, is growing consistently
Also, Ülengin pointed that the real world problems include Big Data and without it, making analysis would only be mathematical and statistical tools and applications. What is more, Business Analytics is the combination of gathering data and computer power, big data and analytical combination that transforms data into intelligence.
After that, Gül Ege, R&D Senior Director at SAS Institute Inc., gave a speech about the business worthiness of advanced analysis and up-to-date tendencies by giving more than a few examples from sector and claimed that data oriented business decisions are faster so they should be reviewed soon.
In the “Marketing Analytics” part of the workshop, Mustafa Gökçe Baydoğan from Boğaziçi University gave a speech in “The Power of Analytics: Two Application in Apperal Retail”, Barış Depecik from Bilkent University in “Who Benefits from Brand Exits? Why?” and Birol Yüceoğlu in “Using Data Analytics for Customer Churn Prediction”.
After the first session, the first software training by BonAir was conducted.
The second session, named “New Methods” was started with Cem İyigün’s speech in “Are the Labels Informative Enough? “, Deniz Yenigün from Bilgi University in “Variable Selection in Regression Using Maximal Correlation and Distance Correlation”, Ece Egemen in “Independent gent Segmentation for the Insurance Sector” and Gökhan Göktürk in “Insurance Fraud Detection”.
After lunch, second software training by SAS was held.
Furthermore, the last session named “Healthcare Applications in Analytics” was conducted by the speeches of Kemal Kılıç in “A Decision Support System for Contract Negotiation Processes of the Healthcare Insurance Companies”, Mehmet Gönen in “Identifying Key mRNA-mRNA Regulatory Programs in Cancer Using Bayesian Reduced-Rank Regression” and Enis Kayis from Özyeğin University in “Next-Day Stochastic Operating Room Scheduling with Limited Historical Data”.
As the last part of the workshop, last software training by SAS was conducted.
For the workshop, there was poster competition was organized for graduate students and the winner of the competition was Furkan Gürsoy, from Boğaziçi University Computer Engineering department.
A Global Look at Family Business
"Family companies need to grow and open to the world if Turkey is to have a say in the global economy"
The Sabancı Business School held a conference titled "A Global Look at Family Business" at the Sabancı University Sakıp Sabancı Museum the Seed on Wednesday, October 4, 2017. Held in association with McKinsey Academy and Columbia Business School, the conference introduced a global perspective on family companies, discussed the experiences of Turkish family companies on the path to incorporation, and explored the expectations of future generations.
Introductory remarks were delivered by Sabancı University Founding Board of Trustees Chair Güler Sabancı and Sabancı Business School Dean Füsun Ülengin.
“Sabancı University starts a groundbreaking university-business partnership platform geared towards family companies that comprise the backbone of the economy"
Sabancı University Founding Board of Trustees Chair Güler Sabancı began by saying that Sabancı University started a groundbreaking university-business partnership platform geared towards family companies that comprise the backbone of the economy. She added that family companies had a special place not just in the Turkish economy, but in the global economy as a whole. Referring to a study by McKinsey, Güler Sabancı said that family companies were expected to account for 40% of the world's largest companies by 2025.
Following introductory remarks, the first panel session, titled "The European and Eurasian Perspective," was moderated by Sabancı Business School faculty member and Corporate Governance Forum Director Melsa Ararat with panelists Patricia Angus from Columbia Business School and Amadeo Di Lodovico, Senior Partner of McKinsey Dubai.
The second panel, moderated by Bloomberg HT News Coordinator Ali Çağatay, was titled “Family Business in Turkey”. Panelists were Leyla Alaton, Sumer Tömek Bayındır and Tayfun Bayazıt.
The moderator of the final panel on "The Expectations of Future Generations" was Arzu Maliki from Bloomberg HT, and panelists were Murat Özyeğin, Ebru Özdemir and Alp Öğücü.
Sabancı Business School Hosted 24th National Congress of Management and Organization in 29-31 May 2016
347 professors and researchers from 99 different institutions participated and 119 studies were presented.
The congress started with workshop for young researchers at 28th of May, in which 6 eminent professors held classes in methodology of researching in business. In addition, Prof. Yılmaz Esmer and Prof. Gürol Irzık gave keynote speeches on the role of social sciences and universities in Turkey and in the World.
As the most recognized one in the field of Management and Organization in Turkey, the congress aims to bring together the social scientists with young researchers in an effort to triumph the organizational studies at both national and international scale. We, as Sabancı Business School are proud to host such an important event.
Sabancı University hosts Unilever President Paul Polman
“Today is the best day to start building a better world!”
Bringing the global world of business to its students with more than 700 conferences every year, Sabancı University hosted a lecture by Paul Polman, President and CEO of Unilever, one of the world’s largest fast-moving consumer goods companies. Paul Polman gave a lecture titled “Creating a Better Future Everyday Made By You.”
The lecture was hosted by Sabancı University Board of Trustees Chair Güler Sabancı, President Professor Nihat Berker and Sabancı Business School Dean Professor Füsun Ülengin.
In her introductory remarks to almost 1000 university students, Professor Füsun Ülengin said that the growing interest in sustainable growth pleased everyone. Ülengin noted that sustainability had become a strategic priority for the private sector in recent years, and that Unilever was a global leader in innovation for sustainability.
Füsun Ülengin said that by embracing a similar vision, Sabancı University topped the “University Innovation and Entrepreneurship Index” created by the Turkish Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology for the first time in 2012. Ülengin noted that Sabancı University specifically invites global leaders on sustainability, informing the audience that Sabancı University is the first university signatory of the UN Global Compact in Turkey, that its MBA and Executive MBA are ranked in FT lists, and that the Sabancı Business School is a signatory of Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME). Ülengin also noted that the Corporate Governance Forum under the Sabancı Business School implements the Turkish leg of the Carbon Disclosure Project and the Independent Female Directors Project. Füsun Ülengin concluded her remarks by saying that the objective of Sabancı University was to contribute to the creation of the future and develop leaders for the future.
Taking the floor, Paul Polman said, “Interdependent financial structures, emerging technologies and economic systems make management in a global world more complex. A fast-changing, irresolute, complex and obscure future awaits us. It is clear that the balance of the world has been disrupted, and we must all take the responsibility to work towards changing the world.”
Polman stressed the need to transition to a more fair and sustainable mode of capitalism in the light of the consequences of rapid globalization, and said that the secret to successful growth laid therein.
“The social and environmental issues we face are harder than ever. Population is booming, the climate is changing at an increasing pace, and water resources are dwindling. While one billion people suffer from hunger, another 1 billion people live in plenty, and over 1 billion children die every year of intestinal diseases” said Polman, and called for the youth to support sustainable life:
“Improving the current situation is our responsibility as today’s leaders, whether in business, government or civil society, and this responsibility will be yours in the future as the next generation of leaders. Today is the best day to start building a better world. This is our duty and our responsibility.”
Sustainability is a business model that can both be profitable and have positive impact on nature and humanity
Explaining that Unilever strives to lead global change, Paul Polman continued, “However, this is not something that we can manage alone. This is why collaboration with NGOs, governments, businesses and universities is of great importance to us.”
Polman said: “At Unilever, our corporate objective is to grow our business by a factor of two while halving our environmental footprint and increasing our positive social impact. Our Sustainable Life Plan helped us to grow our business by 30% in the past 4 years while reducing energy and water consumption and waste. Our health and hygiene campaigns touched the lives of a quarter of a billion people. We now obtain one-third of our raw materials from sustainable sources. We enabled 450.000 small-scale farmers to receive training in sustainable agriculture. We have thus proven that sustainability is a winning business model that pays dividends to both the environment and humanity.”
"Global Leaders in Management" series: The Sabancı Business School hosted an event featuring Bangladeshi professor of economics Muhammad Yunus, who won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize with his work on microcredit.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus spoke on the importance of social entrepreneurship
To watch the presentation click here
The Sabancı Business School hosted an event featuring Bangladeshi professor of economics Muhammad Yunus, who won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize with his work on microcredit. Professor Muhammad Yunus gave a lecture titled “Economic Fluctuations and the Importance of Social Entrepreneurship” at the Sabancı University campus in Tuzla on Thursday, December 15. Professor Yunus was received by Sabancı University Board of Trustees Chair Güler Sabancı.
Following an opening speech by the Sabancı Business School Dean Professor Nakiye Boyacıgiller, Professor Muhammad Yunus gave details of the microcredit system established in Bangladesh. Yunus explained that he personally extended financial guarantee to the people of the town close to his campus in Bangladesh, which helped individuals in financial difficulty to become a part of the banking system. Yunus said that the system was being utilized in 80,000 villages in Bangladesh and an aggregate of 1.5 billion dollars of credit has been allocated so far, with a successful repayment rate of 99.3%. Muhammad Yunus added that a similar system was being implemented in Turkey.
Muhammad Yunus said that, in contrast to philanthropy, money spent in social enterprises brought increasing returns, and added, “Initiatives with a public benefit are considered social enterprises. These may be done by individuals or partnerships. Social entrepreneurship can create a new business that earns profit while also helping the people.”
Muhammad Yunus concluded by saying, “The young population today is luckier because they have access to advanced technologies. They can create opportunities that will engage their potential. They can access all the information they need. This empowers them in a way that previous generations did not have.”
Güler Sabancı thanked Muhammad Yunus for his speech, and said, “At Sabancı University, we encourage our students towards social entrepreneurship, and we value such efforts greatly.” Güler Sabancı presented Muhammad Yunus with a commemorative brick of Sabancı University.
Sabancı University Introduced Turkey's "Hidden Champions" in Viyana
Sabancı Business School Faculty Member and Entrepreneur Development Program Director Dilek Çetindamar took part in the Conference on Hidden Champions held in Vienna during the Global Entrepreneurship Week.
Çetindamar’s paper shared the results of a study on three companies in Turkey that are not very well known to the public, but are the top three in their sectors on an international level. Representing Turkey were the authors of the study, Sabancı Business School Faculty Member and Entrepreneur Development Program Director Dilek Çetindamar and doctorate student Türkan Yosun. Panel chair was Nadia Zhexembayeva from the IEDC-Bled School of Management. Also taking part in the panel were researchers and companies from Slovakia and Estonia.
The conference was held by CEEMAN (Central and Eastern Europe Management Development Institution), IEDC-Bled School of Management and the Federal Chamber of Economy of Austria to present the preliminary findings of a study covering 18 countries (Albania, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Estonia, Croatia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Hungary, FYRO Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine and Turkey), and was attended by government officials, academics, advisors and company managers as speakers and listeners.
The 10 leading companies from Turkey that were included in the study and presented at the conference are Alvimedika, Aksa Akrilik Kimya Sanayi, Arbel A.Ş., Ege Soğutmacılık Klima ve Soğuk Hava Tesisleri İhracat İthalat Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş., Eko Tekstil Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Şirketi, Kanca El Aletleri ve Dövme Çelik A.Ş., Kordsa A.Ş., Mutlu Akü ve Malzemeleri San. A.Ş, Türkiye Şişe ve Cam Fabrikaları A.Ş. and Yünsa Yünlü Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş.
A book will be published by Emerald in 2012 on Hidden Champions, and a chapter of this book will be on the hidden champions in Turkey.
The first link below provides details about the conference and papers, and the second link leads to the report that includes the companies from all countries.
For conference papers click here
For the full report click here
"Global Leaders in Management" series: The Sabancı Business School hosted an event with The Coca-Cola Company CEO Muhtar Kent as the keynote speaker
Held on Monday, October 3rd, the conference was hosted by Sabancı Business School Dean, Professor Nakiye Boyacıgiller. Also attending were Sabancı University Board of Trustees Chair Güler Sabancı and President Professor Nihat Berker.
Muhtar Kent’s discussion points included ‘globalization and the private sector’, ‘the changing role of the private sector’, ‘new rules in competition’, and ‘the significance of globalization trends for the youth and its possible impact on their future plans’. Arguing that the world needed a strong engine for growth right now, Kent said that if China appears to be slowing, that did not bode well for a quick global recovery. Kent added that North America and Western Europe were in for a long and mixed recovery, this being less so for Eastern Europe and for many of the “crisis unaware” in parts of Latin America, Africa, and Central and South Asia.Muhtar Kent continued, “Whether it's a financial crisis, or a geopolitical crisis, or an energy crisis, or an environmental crisis - turbulence will be the new norm throughout this decade. And that's not necessarily a bad thing, either. I believe that for every headwind we confront there’s an equally powerful tailwind to be ridden. The trick is finding it.”
Muhtar Kent emphasized that the world was seeing the rise of both the most sophisticated and engaged youth generation, and the most affluent and mobile over-40 population the world has ever known.
Muhtar Kent also discussed Coca-Cola’s new initiatives for gender equality and the empowerment of women, and said, “Two weeks ago we announced a global partnership with U.N. Women to help advance this effort to provide new business training, mentoring and access to financial resources to women-owned businesses across our Coca-Cola value chain. We believe this initiative will help create not only stronger suppliers and retailers for Coca-Cola, but stronger communities everywhere we operate.”
Muhtar Kent concluded his lecture by saying, “As the world desperately looks for ways to restart and reset the global economy, the solution lies right in front of us. Gender equality is simply ‘smart economics’. Sabancı University, of course, knows this better than most and it’s the reason why you've established a Gender and Women’s Study Forum, and it’s why 40 percent of the students here are women.”
The lecture was followed by questions from the floor.
At the end of the conference, Sabancı University Board of Trustees Chair Güler Sabancı presented Muhtar Kent a commemorative brick as a symbol of the university.
Sabanci University hosted European Technology Management Scholars
Sabanci University with the support of TUBITAK hosted the 21st European Doctoral Summer School on Technology Management between 5-9 September 2011.
Leading scholars from Turkey and Europe held session during the Summer School which took place at Sabanci 
Sabanci Univeristy hosted the 21st European Doctoral Summer School on Technology Management between 5-9 September 2011. In the first day of the event that took place at Sabanci University Karakoy Communication Center, the Dean of the Sabancı Business School Prof Nakiye Boyacigiller made the opening speech followed by the lecture of Prof Holger Ersnt from WHU OttoBeisheim School of Management titled “The Integration of R&D and Patents: Applications for New Product Development”.
On 6th of September Tuesday Faculty Members of Sabancı Business School Prof Dilek Çetindamar and Dr Özgecan Koçak held a session titled “Technology Management Practices”. On 7th September Wednesday Prof Dilek Çetindamar and İffet İyigün Meydanlı from Arçelik R&D held a “Company Workshop”.
Jan Kratzer of Institut für Technologie und Management, Technische Universität Berlin, Germany held a session on “The dynamic interplay of technological capabilites and organisational design processes” on 8th of September Thursday.
Max von Zedtwitz’s (from Tongji University, China and University of St. Gallen, Switzerland) session titled “Reverse Innovation and the China’s Role in Changing the Global R&D Geography” was held on 9th of September Friday. The same day following lunch the panel titled “From the Editors” was held. The participants of the panel were Jeff Butler (Manchester Institutie of Innovation Research, Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, UK R&D Conferences Representative, and Editor of R&D Management), Jonathan Linton (Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa, Canada, IAMOT Representative, and Editor of Technovation: the International Journal of Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship, andTechnology Management). The topics of “New Trends in Technology and Innovation Management” and “How To Publish Your Work In The Best Journals” were discussed in the panel.
The textbook titled “Technology Management Activites and Tools” which was authored by Prof Dilek Çetindamar of Sabanci University School of Management and published by Palgrave/Macmillan was employed during the lectures of the Summer School.
The Third International Conference on Corporate Governance in Emerging Markets is supported by CGFT
The third of biannual conferences organized by Emerging Markets Corporate Governance Research Network (EMCGN) and supported by Sabanci University Corporate Governance Forum(CGFT) will be held in Seoul, Korea on 28-29 of May 2011.
Accepted papers are announced on the Conference Web site:
Two of the accepted papers are authored by Sabanci University faculty members. The first conference in the series was hosted by Sabanci University Corporate Governance Forum in 2007.