Corporate Governance

Board of Directors .

Yiğit CENGİZ – Chairman of the Board

Yiğit Cengiz founded PayTR, the country’s first domestic payment institution, in 2009 and positioned the company as a pioneering player in the industry. He is widely recognized as an entrepreneur who has contributed significantly to the development of the payment systems ecosystem in Türkiye. Cengiz handed over his role as General Manager in 2018 and currently serves as Chairman of the Board at PayTR. Yiğit Cengiz graduated from the Department of Information Systems Engineering at Istanbul Technical University and completed his graduate studies in the United States.

İsak ANTİKA – Vice Chairman of the Board

With over 40 years of professional experience, before establishing AGL Istanbul Liaison Office, İsak Antika founded Antika Partners, one of Istanbul’s leading corporate finance and M&A advisory firms and Merrill Lynch’s strategic partner in Turkey, where he served as Managing Partner. Earlier in his career, he held several senior leadership positions at JP Morgan during his 18-year tenure, including Head of Investment Banking for Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa (CEEMEA), and served as a member of JP Morgan’s Global Executive Committee. During his time at the firm, he also held regional leadership responsibilities covering Turkey, the CIS, the Balkans and Israel, in addition to serving as Head of Turkey and Central Asia, and Country Head of Turkey. He began his career in London within JP Morgan Chase & Co.’s Global Markets Group. Antika holds a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Boğaziçi University.

Mehmet Murat ÇAVUŞOĞLU – Board Member

With 30 years of professional experience, Murat Çavuşoğlu served as Managing Partner and Investment Committee Member at Southeast Europe Equity Fund (SEEF), a private equity fund investing across Turkey, Southeast Europe and the Caucasus, prior to joining the AGL Istanbul Liaison Office. Before his career at SEEF, he founded Taurus Capital Partners (TCP), managing a Turkey-focused private equity investment program, where he served as Managing Partner. Before establishing TCP, Çavuşoğlu held senior executive positions at Fiba Holding, one of Turkey’s leading conglomerates, including serving as Chief Executive Officer. He began his career in London within Goldman Sachs’ Corporate Finance and Mergers & Acquisitions Group. Çavuşoğlu holds a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Virginia and completed graduate studies in Engineering-Economic Systems at Stanford University, as well as at Harvard Business School.

Selmi Haleva KAPELUTO – Board Member

With 26 years of professional experience, Selmi Haleva Kapeluto served as Deputy General Manager at Antika Partners, one of Istanbul’s leading corporate finance and M&A advisory firms and Merrill Lynch’s strategic partner in Turkey, prior to joining the AGL Istanbul Liaison Office. Before his tenure at Antika Partners, he worked as a specialist at Taurus Capital Partners, a private equity investment platform managing a Turkey-focused investment program. He began his career in the Corporate Finance Department of Türkiye Sınai Kalkınma Bankası (TSKB). Kapeluto holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Marmara University.

Mehmet Sezgin – Board Member

With 40 years of professional experience, Mehmet Sezgin has been providing innovative payment solutions to financial institutions since 2017 through myGini Inc., a San Francisco-based fintech company. Prior to founding myGini Inc., he served as Global Head of Payment Systems at BBVA, where he managed the bank’s payment strategies and operations across 12 countries. As the founding CEO of Garanti Payment Systems, Sezgin played a key role in the development of Türkiye’s digital payments infrastructure and led the launch of pioneering products such as Bonus Card and Shop & Miles. He has also served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Interbank Card Center (BKM), the Credit Bureau of Türkiye (KKB), and the Banks Association of Türkiye Risk Center. Sezgin completed his undergraduate studies in Business Administration at Middle East Technical University and earned his graduate degree in Business Administration from the University of Massachusetts Boston. He began his banking career at Interbank’s Board of Inspectors.

Rıdvan Tarık Tombul – Board Member

Tarık Tombul joined PayTR as General Manager in 2018 and handed over the role to Merve Tezel in 2023. He currently serves as a Board Member at PayTR. Prior to joining PayTR, Tombul was among the founding partners of PayU Türkiye, where he led the establishment of the company’s operational infrastructure and assumed project leadership responsibilities in the licensing processes in Türkiye and Nigeria. He began his career at Garanti Payment Systems in 2001 and held various positions within the Authorization, Fraud, and Secure Operations departments. Tombul also serves as a Board Member of TÖDEB.

Merter OKUROĞLU – Board Member

With 12 years of professional experience, Merter Okuroğlu is currently at AGL Istanbul Liaison Office, having previously held the role of Financial Services Director at Trendyol Group. Prior to his time at Trendyol Group, he held the position of Vice President in the Private Equity department at Franklin Templeton. He began his career at McKinsey & Company as a management consultant focusing on banking and financial products. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Boğaziçi University and a master’s degree from Columbia Business School.

Nihan Cengiz – Board Member

Serving as a Board Member at PayTR since 2020, Nihan Cengiz specializes in corporate governance and strategic investments. After completing her undergraduate studies at Boğaziçi University, Cengiz pursued academic studies at Cornell University and later completed her graduate education at Columbia University.

Executive Management .

Süreyya Merve TEZEL – CEO

Merve Tezel graduated from Robert College and holds degrees from Ithaca College and Lehigh University (USA). She began at Yapı Kredi Bankası, then Garanti Payment Systems, and spent 15 years at Visa Europe Turkey as Management Consultant and GM. Since March 2023 she has led PayTR as CEO, focusing on customer experience, fintech innovation, and digital strategy.

Bülent Elçin – CSO

Bülent Elçin graduated from Bilkent University (1994) and served at Real Hypermarkets, Best Buy Turkey, Hepsiburada, then as CCO at eBay/GittiGidiyor. Since November 2024 he is CSO at PayTR.

Bülent Muşlu – CTO

An IT veteran since 1991, Bülent Muşlu holds degrees from ITU and has led infrastructure, security and risk at Alarko, HPE, BKM. He is CTO since September 2023 and holds ITIL®, ISO and PCI certifications.

Can Çelik – CCDO

Can Çelik is a graduate of Boğaziçi University’s Department of Economics. He began his career at Yapı Kredi in merchant product management and business development, focusing on digital payment solutions, acquiring, and commercial growth in banking and payments. He later served as an Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company, leading strategy and transformation projects across financial services, payments, and fintech. Since December 2025, he has been serving as Deputy General Manager for Commercial Development at PayTR, where he is responsible for the company’s commercial growth strategy, new revenue streams, productization, profitability, and strategic partnerships.

Feyza Dereli Fedar – CMO

Graduated from Boğaziçi University (2003), Feyza started at PwC, Tofaş, Garanti Bank, then CRM/Digital Marketing roles at GittiGidiyor. Since September 2023 she is CMO at PayTR.

Tolga Ökmen – COO

With over 19 years of experience in banking and payments, Tolga Ökmen began his career in 2006 at HSBC, working in fraud prevention and investigations. In 2016, he transitioned into payments, serving as Risk and Compliance Manager at Paynet, before overseeing compliance operations at Trend Ödeme. Having served as PayTR’s Compliance Director since June 2024, he was appointed Deputy General Manager of Operations at PayTR in January 2026.

Yiğit Keskin – CFO

Yiğit Keskin began his professional career at Deloitte, the international audit and advisory firm, where he took on significant responsibilities in building financial control and reporting frameworks and ensuring compliance with IFRS and local regulations. He played an active role in the financial and regulatory processes of payment and electronic money institutions operating under CBRT regulations and secondary legislation, including the Law on Payment and Securities Settlement Systems, Payment Services, and Electronic Money Institutions. Keskin joined PayTR as Finance Director in November 2022 and was appointed Deputy General Manager of Finance in December 2025.

Zafer Latif – CPO

Zafer Latif has 11 years in payments, joining PayTR at inception. He has led licensing, regulatory compliance, and product innovation, earning PSM awards. He has served as Deputy GM for Product since 2021.

Risk Management and Internal Control Unit Managers .

Bekir Kamalı – Internal Control Manager

Bekir Kamalı holds degrees from Anadolu and Selçuk Universities in Business, Tourism, Web Design and Social Media. With 30+ years in fintech and beyond, he has led PayTR’s Internal Control since August 2012.

Burcu Ergenç – Risk Director

Burcu Ergenç graduated from Ege University. She began at Akbank, chaired security at ÖDED, served as Risk Manager at Paratika and Payten, and joined PayTR as Risk Director in March 2022, specializing in onboarding, fraud prevention and regulatory risk.

Shareholder Structure

Name	Shareholding (%)	Paid-in Capital (TRY)
YİĞİT CENGİZ	40	24.354.000
FİNANCİAL TECHNOLOGİES S.A.R.L	60	36.531.000