Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

Speaking at the opening of the two-day online summit, TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu said that corporate governance practices are essential for companies that want to be sustainable and continue their activities. Pointing out that one of the most important problems of the business world is this issue, Hisarcıklıoğlu said: “As the President of the Turkish business world, I would like to underline these two points. Underneath both, there's an understanding of corporate governance. First, always start with a good partner. Don't tell me you can handle it alone. Always give way to your partner when you walk through the door, don't be eager to pass first. Here's the secret to success. The second is don't discriminate between children. There is no room for discrimination in corporate governance. I'm telling you very clearly, to have a woman entrepreneur, a manager in a company, a female perspective will make you stand out one step more in terms of corporate governance.”

Noting that some of the enterprises established with great enthusiasm and resources are unfortunately disappearing after a certain period of time, TOBB President said, “It is not only the capital of that company that vanishes here, the capital of the country is also diminished. That's why companies of all sizes must implement corporate governance elements in their business to the extent of their means.” Hisarcıklıoğlu emphasized that this form of management is based on the principles of 'Fairness', 'Transparency', 'Accountability' and 'Responsibility.'

TOBB President Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu said that as TOBB and the Chamber-Exchange community, they attach great importance to this issue while carrying out their activities and that one of the most important concrete indicators of corporate governance is the Chamber-Exchange Accreditation System, noting that 282 of the 365 Chambers-Exchanges are accredited today in the accreditation system where they have completed their 20^th year.

Noting that it is strengthening corporate governance is very important for public policy processes in the public sector, M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that, “Experience has shown since the past that the stronger the public-private consultation mechanism in the policy design process, the more effective the emerging policies are. That's why we need public-private consultation much more than in the past, especially in these times when we're going through. As long as we develop an effective consultation and discussion environment, we will have a solid corporate governance approach in the public sector.”

- Feyyaz Ünal: “Properly functioning management structure increases investor inflow”

Noting that the investment wind blowing around the world can be caught by corporate governance, TKYD Chairman Feyyaz Ünal said, “95% of the companies in our country are family companies. But the average company life span is limited to a quarter of a century; so we're entrepreneurial, but we can't sustain it. Therefore, corporate governance is not a matter of 'should we do it', it is a necessity for companies to exist in the future. If we don't run our companies corporately, we become a 'small corporate country'. We try to establish new companies and divide the possibilities. However, there is a wind of investment around the world with the crisis. A management culture and a properly functioning management structure increase investors' confidence in companies and investment inflows all over the world. Corporate governance mediates us to create that trust. It ensures that managers are fair, transparent, know that they will be held to account when necessary and act responsibly, regardless of the public, civil society, private sector.”

Ünal stated that the world is now talking about sustainable corporate governance, “As TKYD, we are both a spokesperson and a party to sustainability. In all our studies, we aim to contribute to the work of our country's organizations for a sustainable future in every field from our activities to the documents we create with working groups. We put importance on and follow best practices coming to our country with the influence of our close ties with many international institutions.”

Ünal, who also announced that TKYD will start a new project that they believe will make a significant contribution to the business world in the coming days, said that they will launch the 'Independent Member Placement Program' for the boards of directors of the companies as the first step in the two-part project, which they will implement together with MY Executive.

- Public-Private sector dialogue discussed

The XIII. Corporate Governance Summit continued with a session on “Facilitating Factors for Strengthening Public Policy Processes and Policy Effectiveness” following the opening speeches. The session, moderated by TKYD Board Member Eray Akdağ and attended by Sanofi Pharmaceuticals Market Access and Public Relations Director Güray Karacar and R&D Consulting Partner Dr. Erkin Erimez, focused on improving public policies through increased dialogue between the public and private sectors. Following the panel, assessments of the banking sector and corporate governance, prepared by the international consulting firm Nestor Advisors, were shared by the firm's managing partner, senior consultant Stilpon Nestor.

- XI. Corporate Governance Awards announcing tomorrow

The second and final day of the XIII. Corporate Governance Summit will begin tomorrow (February 25th) at 14.00 with the XI. Corporate Governance Awards Ceremony. The ceremony will present awards in five main categories, based on corporate governance rating ratings obtained by companies and non-governmental organizations in 2020. IFC Europe and Central Asia Corporate Governance Leader Merima Zupcevic, the main speaker of the second day following the ceremony, will discuss “How Corporate Governance is Implemented in SMEs.”

The second main session of the summit, “Creating Value - Evaluation of Sustainable Business and Turkey's Place in International Indices in Terms of Corporate Governance”, will be moderated by TOBB President Advisor and Head of Real Sector Department Hasan Çağlayan Dündar, with the participation of Ahmet İhsan Erdem, Vice President of the Turkish Presidential Investment Office and Ece Bör, General Manager of the Turkish Central Development Bank. Pavle Djuric, Executive Legal Counsel of the EBRD Legal Transformation Team, will close the XIII. Corporate Governance Summit with her speech titled “Next Step in Corporate Governance, Development Areas.”