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.

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.

Executive Management .

Süreyya Merve TEZEL – Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Merve Tezel has been serving as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PayTR since March 2023. Prior to joining PayTR, she spent nearly 15 years at Visa Europe Türkiye, where she held senior roles including Management Consultant and General Manager. She began her career at Yapı Kredi Bank and later joined Garanti Payment Systems.
With extensive experience in financial technology, digital payments, fintech innovation, customer relationship management and financial strategy, Tezel has played a key role throughout her career in the development and expansion of digital payment solutions.
A graduate of Robert College, Merve Tezel completed her undergraduate and postgraduate studies in Business Administration at Ithaca College and Lehigh University in the United States.

Bülent ELÇİN – Chief Sales Officer (CSO)

Bülent Elçin has been serving as Chief Sales Officer (CSO) of PayTR since November 2024. Elçin began his career at Real Hypermarkets and later held senior sales roles at Best Buy Türkiye and Hepsiburada. He subsequently spent eight years as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) at eBay / GittiGidiyor, where he led the development and execution of the company’s commercial strategies and growth initiatives.
With extensive experience in sales management, e-commerce, commercial strategy, business development and customer acquisition, Elçin has played key roles throughout his career in building high-performing sales organizations, identifying new growth opportunities and driving sustainable commercial growth.
Bülent Elçin graduated from Bilkent University with a degree in Business Administration.

Bülent MUŞLU – Chief Technology Officer (CTO)

Bülent Muşlu has been serving as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of PayTR since September 2023. As a technology professional since 1991, he has held various senior leadership positions, including Senior Vice President and Executive Vice President roles, at leading organizations such as the Bankalararası Kart Merkezi (BKM), Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Alarko.
With extensive experience in information security, IT risk and compliance, business continuity, service management, data center operations, systems and network management, infrastructure design, project management and software development, Muşlu has played key roles throughout his career in advancing technology infrastructures, ensuring the security and continuity of critical systems, leading technology transformation initiatives and strengthening organizational technology capabilities.
Muşlu holds internationally recognized professional certifications, including ITIL® Expert, ISO 27001 Lead Auditor, ISO 22301 Lead Auditor, PCI ISA and Certified Ethical Hacker. He completed both his undergraduate and graduate studies in Computer Engineering at Istanbul Technical University.

Can ÇELİK – Chief Commercial Development Officer (CCDO)

Can Çelik has been serving as Chief Commercial Development Officer at PayTR since December 2025. He began his career at Yapı Kredi Bank in merchant product management and business development, where he held various roles across digital payment solutions, acquiring and commercial growth within the banking and payments industries. He later joined McKinsey & Company, where, as an Engagement Manager, he led strategy and transformation projects focused on financial services, payments and fintech.
With extensive experience in commercial strategy, new revenue streams, productization, profitability, business development and strategic partnerships, Çelik has played key roles throughout his career in identifying new growth opportunities, developing commercial models and implementing strategies that support sustainable and profitable growth.
Can Çelik holds a degree in Economics from Boğaziçi University.

Feyza DERELİ FEDAR – Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)

Feyza Dereli Fedar has been serving as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of PayTR since September 2023. She began her career at PwC Türkiye and subsequently held various marketing roles at Garanti Bank and Tofaş. She later joined eBay Türkiye / GittiGidiyor, where she served as CRM Manager and Digital Marketing Manager before becoming CMO, a role she held for nearly eight years, leading the company’s marketing teams.
With extensive experience in marketing strategy, CRM, digital marketing, brand management, marketing communications and corporate communications, Fedar has played key roles throughout her career in strengthening brand equity, driving customer acquisition and loyalty, developing data-driven marketing strategies and supporting sustainable business growth.
Feyza Dereli Fedar holds a degree in Business Administration from Boğaziçi University.

Tolga ÖKMEN – Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Tolga Ökmen joined PayTR as Compliance Director in June 2024 and was appointed Chief Operating Officer (COO) in January 2026. He began his career in 2006 in fraud prevention and investigation at HSBC. He subsequently managed compliance processes at Trend Ödeme and served as Risk and Compliance Manager at Paynet.
With more than 19 years of experience in the banking and payments industries, Ökmen has extensive expertise in operations management, risk and compliance, fraud prevention and operational process development. Throughout his career, he has played key roles in strengthening risk and compliance frameworks, improving operational efficiency and building secure and sustainable operational structures.
Tolga Ökmen holds a degree in Public Finance from Anadolu University.

Yiğit KESKİN – Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

Yiğit Keskin joined PayTR as Finance Director in November 2022 and was appointed Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in December 2025. He began his career at Deloitte and transitioned to the payments and electronic money industry in 2015.
With extensive experience in financial management, financial control and reporting, IFRS, regulatory compliance and governance, Keskin has played key roles throughout his career in strengthening financial processes and control frameworks, enhancing reporting standards and ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements. Within the payments and electronic money industry, he has also been actively involved in financial and regulatory processes governed by Law No. 6493 on Payment and Securities Settlement Systems, Payment Services and Electronic Money Institutions, as well as regulations and secondary legislation issued by the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT).
Yiğit Keskin holds a degree in Economics from Hacettepe University.

Zafer LATİF – Chief Product Officer (CPO)

Zafer Latif has been serving as Chief Product Officer (CPO) of PayTR since 2021. Having been with PayTR since its founding, Latif has held various responsibilities across the organization and has played an active role in the integration of new technologies, the development and management of payment infrastructure, and the expansion of the company’s product portfolio.
With more than 13 years of experience in the payment technologies industry, Latif has extensive expertise in product management, payment systems, product and technology strategy, and regulatory compliance. Throughout his career, he has played key roles in developing and launching new products and payment solutions, as well as managing PayTR’s institutional licensing, compliance with regulations under Law No. 6493, Türkiye’s Personal Data Protection Law (KVKK), and PCI DSS requirements. Product initiatives led by Latif have earned PayTR several industry awards.
Zafer Latif studied Computer Programming.

Risk Management and Internal Control Unit Managers .

Burcu ERGENÇ – Risk Director

Burcu Ergenç has been serving as Risk Director at PayTR since March 2022. She began her career at Akbank and subsequently served as Risk Manager at Paratika and Payten. In parallel, she served for three years as Chair of the Security Committee at the Payment and Electronic Money Institutions Association of Türkiye (TÖDEB), contributing to initiatives aimed at advancing risk management and security practices across the payments and electronic money industry.
With more than 19 years of extensive experience in payment systems regulations, risk management and customer risk assessment, Ergenç has played key roles throughout her career in developing and managing risk processes, coordinating risk-related matters with banks, Mastercard and Visa, conducting risk assessments as part of customer onboarding, and developing systematic processes for evaluating high-risk customer applications. She also continues to lead risk assessment activities for new products and projects.
Burcu Ergenç holds a degree in Business Administration from Ege University.

Tarık ÖZKAN – Director of Internal Control

Tarık Özkan has been serving as Director of Internal Control at PayTR since August 2026. With more than 20 years of experience in banking, financial services and payment systems, Özkan has held various management positions throughout his career at Türkiye İş Bankası, Fibabanka, Vodafone Finansman and Moka United.
With extensive experience in internal control, internal audit, compliance, operational risk, business continuity and information security, Özkan has played key roles throughout his career in establishing and enhancing effective internal control frameworks for payment systems and financial processes, managing operational risk and business continuity, strengthening information systems controls and ensuring regulatory compliance. He also has extensive experience in managing audit processes conducted by regulatory authorities.
Özkan holds Capital Markets Board of Türkiye (CMB) Level 3 and Derivatives Licences, as well as an ISO 27001:2022 Information Security Management Systems Lead Auditor certification. He holds a master’s degree in Cybersecurity from Marmara University.

Shareholder Structure

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