Board of Directors | Gülmek İyileştirir Derneği

Sanem Bağcı Ayrık – Chairperson of the Board

She was born in Edirne in 1979. In 2001, she graduated from Hacettepe University, Department of English Language and Literature. She began her career in the textile industry, which she had always been interested in. Between 2002 and 2009, she held various positions, including managerial roles, in both local and international textile companies. From 2009 to 2013, she made a career change and worked as a script and content writer. Starting in 2016, she began managing international relations for production companies. That same year, she crossed paths with the Gülmek İyileştirir Association, where she continuous to serve as The Chairperson of the Board.

In addition, since 2018, she and her husband have been operating a company they co-founded in the food industry. She is married and the mother of two sons.

Prof. Dr. Umut Bulut – Vice Chairperson of the Board

She was born in İzmir in 1979. She completed her secondary and high school education at İzmir Bornova Anatolian High School. After graduating from the Department of Chemistry at Middle East Technical University (METU) in 2002, she completed her Master’s degree in Polymer Chemistry in the same department, and earned her Ph.D. in Chemistry at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2004.
Umut Bulut continued her academic career at METU and the University of Texas at Dallas. She is currently a faculty member and Vice Dean at the Faculty of Pharmacy at Acıbadem University.

Aslı Bastıyalı – Secretary General

Born in 1981, Aslı Bastıyalı graduated from the Chemistry Department of Middle East Technical University (METU). She began her career as a copywriter at various advertising and PR agencies, later working in the sales and marketing departments of major corporations such as Novartis, Danone, and Bayer.

In 2014, while serving as the Director of Trade Marketing and Sales Innovations at Bayer Consumer Health, she left her corporate career after her daughter Bahar was diagnosed with leukemia. Following Bahar’s recovery in 2016, inspired by the experiences they went through during her treatment, she founded the Gülmek İyileştirir Association to provide psychosocial support to children and families battling serious illnesses and trauma.

She now devotes all her time to working for the foundation.
Aslı Bastıyalı is also the author of three published books: Mevzu Derin, Anne Ben Nasıl Oldum?, and Gülmek İyileştirir.

İlker Ayrık
İlker Ayrık was born on October 16, 1979, in Balıkesir, Turkey. While attending Balıkesir High School, he decided to pursue a career in theater. In 1997, he moved to Istanbul for formal training in acting and graduated from the Theater Department of Müjdat Gezen Art Center after four years of education.

In 2005, he co-founded the theater company Pervasız Tiyatro with Aykut Taşkın. Since 2000, he has performed in numerous theater productions and has also taken part in many films, TV series, and commercials.

He gained wide popularity in 2009 with his role as “Mürsel” in the TV series Geniş Aile. In 2010, he played the character “Servet” in the film Çakallarla Dans. A major turning point in his career came in 2012 when he debuted as a TV host on the game show Ben Bilmem Eşim Bilir. He also became widely recognized for his role as “Çağatay” in the hit TV series Seksenler.

In 2013, he returned to the stage alongside Aykut Taşkın with the play Uçurtma’nın Kuyruğu. In addition to being an actor, presenter, and theater artist, İlker Ayrık is also known as a producer. In 2014, he co-founded Pervasız Yapım, a production company that has since been involved in producing numerous TV programs, films, theater productions, and music projects.

In 2015, he starred in, directed, and co-produced the film Yapışık Kardeşler, which attracted over 1 million viewers and achieved significant box office success. Since 2018, he has continued hosting the popular game show Yaparsın Aşkım.

Cenk Bastıyalı

Born in 1980, Cenk Bastıyalı completed his high school education at Karşıyaka Anatolian High School and earned his bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Middle East Technical University (METU). After two years of experience at Aselsan, he joined Procter & Gamble (P&G), where he worked for 14 years.

During his time at P&G, he led numerous local and global organizations and projects. Before being appointed as the Group Manager of Supply Chain for the FemCare category in P&G Turkey, he worked as a project manager in the Philippines, overseeing the development and commissioning of a new technology packaging line in the Global Fabric Care category.

He later joined Bayer Crop Science, where he served as the Turkey Supply Manager and Factory Director at the company’s plant in Gebze. Since 2021, he has been working at Unilever as the Director of Innovation, Portfolio Planning, and Contract Manufacturing.

A founding member of the Gülmek İyileştirir Derneği, Cenk Bastıyalı continues to serve as a board member. He is married and has one child.

Güray Baygıner

Born in 1980, Güray Baygıner is a graduate of Marmara University, Department of Business Administration. He is a scriptwriter, playwright, advertising writer, and teacher. Since the foundation of the Gülmek İyileştirir Association, he has been serving as a board member.

Burçin Gürbüz

Burçin Gürbüz is an architect, technology entrepreneur, and investor. He founded GarageAtlas in 2015 and has led numerous projects in the fields of VR/AR and innovative 3D technologies. With an interdisciplinary global vision, he continues to develop the next generation of Metaverse, Web3, and multi-dimensional experiences for workplaces through Atlas Space.

As the founder of AtlasSpace, he leads a metaverse platform that connects businesses globally through Web3.0 technologies. With offices in Miami, Seattle, Montreal, and Istanbul, the company is rapidly growing with clients, universities, and top tech partners worldwide.

Gürbüz is also a speaker, educator, and consultant who gives talks on how upcoming technologies will shape and transform the future of humanity.

Sinan Güreli

Titles: CPA (Turkey), Director of Corporate Finance, Board Member at Güreli Yeminli Mali Müşavirlik ve Bağımsız Denetim Hizmetleri A.Ş.

Professional Background: Certified Public Accountant since 2014. Serving as Corporate Finance Director at Güreli since 2008. Became a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in the United States in 2007 and worked abroad in the audit field between 2003–2008.

Education:

2003, American University, Washington D.C., USA – B.A. in Business Administration

Professional Memberships:

Istanbul Chamber of Certified Public Accountants

Independent Auditing Association

TÜSİAD (Turkish Industry & Business Association)

Personal: Married, father of two children.

Supervisory Board

Serkan Soykan

Born in 1973 in İzmir, Serkan Soykan graduated from Ege University, Faculty of Agricultural Engineering. He began his career in the pharmaceutical industry and has managed Consumer Health portfolios and teams at global companies such as Roche, Bayer, GlaxoSmithKline, and Exeltis. He currently serves as National Sales and Promotion Manager at ARİS Pharmaceuticals. He is married to Derya Soykan and is the father of two children, Ege and Deniz.

Gizem Kadıoğlu

Born in March 1988 in Istanbul, Gizem Kadıoğlu graduated from Boğaziçi University, Department of Chemistry. She began working in the pharmaceutical industry and currently serves as a Business Unit Manager at a pharmaceutical company. She has been a volunteer at Gülmek İyileştirir Association since its foundation and became a member of the Supervisory Board in 2020.

Mehtap Özcan Şensoy

Born in 1982 in Istanbul, Mehtap Özcan Şensoy graduated from Abant İzzet Baysal University, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Department of Economics. She worked in VAT auditing at Erdikler CPA before joining Colgate Palmolive as a Tax Manager. She has served as an auditor on the Supervisory Board of Gülmek İyileştirir Association since its founding. She enjoys traveling, reading history, writing poetry, and is currently a beginner piano student. She is married and the mother of Tuna Şensoy.