Bülent Eczacıbaşı

Eczacıbaşı Holding Chairperson Bülent Eczacıbaşı began his professional career in 1974, and held various positions in Eczacıbaşı Group companies. He also served in the management of a number of prominent business associations, including TÜSİAD, the Turkish Industry and Business Association, where he was Chairman of the Board (1991- 1993) and Chairman of the High Advisory Council (1997-2001); and the Turkish Pharmaceuticals Manufacturers’ Association (İEİS), where he was Chairman of the Board (2000-2008). He serves as chairperson of several Eczacıbaşı Group companies. Bülent Eczacıbaşı continues to serve both TÜSİAD and İEİS as Honorary Chairman. He is also an Honorary Member of both the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK) and Turkish Enterprise and Business Confederation (TÜRKONFED), and a member of the High Advisory Council of the Aegean Industry and Business Association (ESİAD).

Bülent Eczacıbaşı is also on the boards of various civic organizations. He is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Istanbul Modern Art Foundation, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV), and a member of the High Advisory Board of the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV), which he previously served as the Founding Chairman (1993-1997).

Bülent Eczacıbaşı graduated from the Department of Chemistry of the Imperial College of Science and Technology, London, and obtained his master’s degree in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Recipient of Chevalier dans l'Ordre National de la Légion d'Honneur and Commendatore dell'Ordine della Stella d'Italia, Bülent Eczacıbaşı has authored two books about his experiences in business: “İşim Gücüm Budur Benim” (2018) and “Aklımızda Bulunsun” (2022). The first, published in English in 2020 with the title “A Rip in the Sea: New Responsibilities for Business,” explores the new roles and responsibilities of business leaders. The second, published in English in 2023 as “Just to Keep in Mind,” comprises 40 short essays about his findings from a half-century of working and reading and thinking about business issues. Bülent Eczacıbaşı is also an avid photographer. In 2020, a selection of his photographs about the people and stories he encountered during his travels was published under the title “From the Road.” In 2022, his photographs documenting the construction of Istanbul Modern’s new museum building were exhibited in a show called “Reflections of a Transformation: Toward a New Istanbul Modern” and published as a book under the same title in 2023.