Ferda BESLİ

Having more than 30 years of experience in corporate finance, project finance, credit and bank relationship management, and strategic marketing, Besli is the founder and CEO of Besfin. He started his career at Akbank TAŞ in 1987. He served as the Inspection Board and Branch Manager in Banking, then as the Department Manager Responsible for Corporate Banking, and as the President Responsible for Commercial and SME Banking.
Besli worked as the Deputy General Manager responsible for Commercial Banking, SME, Project Finance and Cash Management Departments at Akbank between 2006 and 2011, and retired in 2011 and founded Besfin the same year. He holds the Capital Markets Board of Turkey Capital Market Activities Level 3 License and Credit Rating and Corporate Governance Rating Licenses.
Besli, who graduated from Istanbul University, Department of Economics, interned at Deutsche Bank, the world's leading financial institution, during his time at Akbank and attended numerous domestic and international trainings on sales and marketing. Finally, he attended the "Customer-Focused Marketing Strategy" training at London Business School.
As a member of a high-level working group jointly established by the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) and the European Institute for the Mediterranean (IEMED), Besli actively participated in meetings in Barcelona and Brussels where practical ways were examined to increase access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the region.
He worked as a member of TUSİAD (Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association) in Turkey, WFS (World Futurists Association) in the USA, British think tank Chatham House in the UK and various social organizations.