Hürriyet Newspaper (A Woman in The Business World)

September 2019

1. First of all, could you please tell us about your personal story?

I graduated from Yıldız Technical University, Faculty of Architecture, Department of Architecture. Then I completed my master's degree at Istanbul Technical University. I first started my business life as a project sales officer in the representative company of a foreign furniture brand. Later on, I decided to use architecture by blending it with sales and this experience carried me to the manager position in my second job.After my management experience, I established my own architectural office and continued to work in the field of design & application. In 2010, I established Hotelya in partnership with Erdoğan Döner, the owner of Kolsan, which I am a good customer of. Currently, I continue my professional career as the Founding Partner and General Manager of Hotelya.

2. As the founding partner of Hotelya, we know that you have a strong vision for your company. What would you like to say about it?

Hotelya is one of the leading brands in its sector which manufactures loose and fixed furniture products especially for five-star hotel projects and also other types of projects such as shopping malls, airports, hospitals, restaurants, offices, cafes etc... Our most important strength is our ability to produce all kinds of furniture. We are able to serve to our customers for all kinds of furniture needs from garden furniture to office furniture.

We have managed to exist on 4 continents with our sales, marketing, project design and fixed wood production activities that we have added together with Hotelya in the last 10 years besides the identity of manufacturer for more than 30 years.We have nearly 500 projects in Turkey, while there are 150 projects abroad. We realize 20% of our projects abroad. Together with the work we have done in the last 3 years, our goal is to increase our overseas share to over 50%.Hotels constitute 80% of our projects. These include chain hotel projects such as Hilton, Sheraton, HyattRegency, Holiday Inn, Fairmont and Rixos. As of 2019, we will obtain approximately 80% of our turnover from our overseas projects.In order to serve our customers in more fields, our vision includes adding new products such as metal, marble, sound insulated wall panels to our company.

3. Can you tell us what you think about the power of Turkish women and their contributions to the world of economy?

Women's place in business is increasing day by day. The participation of women in the labor force and gender equality not only strengthens women but also the economic development of our country. As Hotelya, we attach importance to women's employment with this understanding. Currently, the rate of our female employees in the management level is 85%. We are trying to increase this ratio in the production area.

Increasing the presence of women in governing bodies of companies has very different benefits. Women, by combining different ideas, perspectives and styles, contribute to the improvement of performance in companies. Women's empathy, emotional intelligence, collaboration with others, open to negotiation and service understanding help to create new opportunities for companies, which in turn creates an advantage for economic development.

As a woman working in the male-dominated sector, I must say that women are much braver now. Today, we see that women who take responsibility and risk can work in all areas without discrimination. Women's innovative perspectives, visions and different analysis of expectations, contributes to making a difference compared to men in each sector. Since women were admitted to working life later than men, women have spent more effort than men to achieve their goals. Women's motivation to overcome the obstacles in front of them is an advantage for business life. The existence of women in business life is among the fundamental dynamics that will shape the economy and the world.