Agah Uğur was the guest of Yeşim Grup “Conversation Among Us” Program

Agah Uğur was the guest of Yeşim Grup “Conversation Among Us”

Agah Uğur, Yeşim Group Board Member, shared his experiences in business life and his views on Yeşim Group with Yeşim Almaxtex employees within the scope of Conversation Among Us.

The guest of Yeşim Group's “Conversation Among Us” event was Board Member Agah Uğur. Yeşim Group CEO Şenol Şankaya, Co-CEO Selim Şankaya, senior executives and many Yeşim employees attended the event.
Agah Uğur shared his experiences in his business life in the conversation moderated by Dilek Cesur, Corporate Communications Director of Yeşim Group, and said that he returned to Türkiye in 1985 after his education and first took part in the banking sector, and then served as CFO and CEO at Borusan Holding between 1989-2018.
After his retirement in 2018, Uğur said that he started a new period in his life, which he called the “Second Act”, and that he took non-executive roles in many reputable companies such as Yeşim Group and also worked as an angel investor.

Robust structure from deep-rooted past
Agah Uğur, who serves as a Board Member at Yeşim Group, shared his observations on the company as follows: “Yeşim has a robust structure that comes from a deep-rooted past and a corporate culture that emphasizes its values, this is very clearly felt. There is also a leadership team that can take decisive, fast and courageous decisions.”
Uğur added that in order to sustain Yeşim's institutionalization and systemic success, Yeşim must create a systematic way of working without losing its strengths, while maintaining its people-oriented approach and ability to act quickly.
Emphasizing that he believes Yeşim will grow even more in the coming years and achieve greater success, Uğur said, “If the company maintains its strengths and continues to develop, Yeşim's future is brilliant.”

“The most important element in business life is people”
Uğur said that Yeşim's “People First” philosophy is very important for employee happiness and company success. Underlining that the most important element in business life is people, Agah Uğur said, “Employees need to feel valued, take on tasks, assume responsibility, be successful and be appreciated. In this way, the employees are happy and the performance of the company increases. For this reason, the 'People First' philosophy of the late Şükrü Şankaya is very critical for me. It also reveals its difference as part of a corporate culture that has come since the foundation of Yeşim.”
Stating that values are very important for company culture and codes of conduct, Uğur emphasized that Yeşim's values such as being performance-oriented, being sustainable, Walking hand in hand with customers, saying “People First” and working together should be kept alive. Uğur added that these values should be adopted by all employees and taken as an example.
Speaking after the conversation, Şenol Şankaya, CEO of Yeşim Group, stated that he has been following Agah Uğur with appreciation for many years. Şenol Şankaya expressed that Uğur will provide important support for Yeşim's change and transformation in line with its goal of becoming a global company, and added that they will support this transformation with independent board members. 
Following the speeches, Şenol Şankaya and Selim Şankaya presented a plaque to Agah Uğur, who completed his 1st year at Yeşim Group.

Who is Agah Uğur?
After graduating from high school and studying industrial engineering in the UK, Agah Uğur worked in various organizations in Türkiye and abroad. After spending 30 years of his career at Borusan, he retired from the company as CEO in 2018.
Mr. Uğur is currently the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Boğaziçi Ventures, of which he is a partner, as well as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Doğan Holding and a Board Member of Pegasus Airlines, Anadolu Efes Brewery, Coca Cola (CCI), Alcatel Lucent Teletaş and Gözde GSYF.
Agah Uğur, who has served on the boards of many non-governmental and professional organizations throughout his career, is currently a member of the Presidium of TÜSİAD High Advisory Council, a member of the Board of Trustees of Sabancı University and a member of the Advisory Board of Columbia University Istanbul Global Center.
He is also an investor in technology ventures and a collector of contemporary art with a focus on new media and video art, and has been involved in numerous projects and initiatives in these fields.