
Berna Avdan
Chief Legal Counsel
Akbank
The In-House Legal Counsel Awards
At its inaugural ceremony in May 2025, GC Elite Türkiye gathered over 200 outstanding in-house legal counsel at Feriye on the Bosphorus to celebrate 204 honourees across the Hall of Fame, Luminary, Individual and Rising Star categories.
The 2025 edition at Feriye, Istanbul brought together Türkiye's leading in-house legal community for peer-level recognition and networking. If you'd like to understand how honourees are selected, read the nomination criteria.

Chief Legal Counsel
Akbank

Legal Director
Yıldız Holding

Legal & Scientific Director
L'Oréal

Head of Legal
Alternatifbank

Director of Legal Services
Migros Ticaret

General Counsel
Kibar Holding

General Counsel
Mercedes-Benz Otomotiv

VP Legal, GC-EME
The Coca-Cola Company

VP & Chief Legal Officer
HDI Fiba Emeklilik

Legal Director
Alliance Healthcare

Legal Affairs Director
MediaMarkt Turkey

General Counsel
Unilever

19 years in-house legal counsel

General Counsel
AgeSA Hayat ve Emeklilik

VP Senior Managing Legal Counsel
Mastercard

Head of Legal, Compliance & Bodily Claims
Aksigorta

Head of Legal & Compliance
Borusan Pipe

Head of Legal
LUKOIL Eurasia Petrol A.Ş.

Commercial Legal Director, Türkiye & Adriatics
Microsoft

Country Legal Head
Novartis

Chief Legal Counsel
Carrefour

Head of Legal & Compliance
HDI Fibaemeklilik

Legal Consultancy Service Manager
Vakıf Katılım Bankası A.Ş

Legal Counsel
Sabancı Dijital Teknoloji Hizmetleri A.Ş.

Legal Affairs Manager
Zorlu Holding

Head of Legal Performance Emerging Markets
Glaxosmithkline

Senior Legal Counsel
Gülermak Ağır Sanayi İnşaat ve Taahhüt Anonim Şirketi

Director of Legal Affairs and Corporate Compliance & Board Secretary
SunExpress Airlines

Legal Counsel
Samsung Electronics

Legal Counsel
Watsons Türkiye

Legal Counsel
Akbank

General Counsel
Zurich Sigorta

Head of Legal
Teleperformance Turkey

Legal Manager - Compliance Department
Sabancı Holding

Senior Legal Counsel
Acarer Metal Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S.

Legal Counsel
Mypayz Ödeme Kuruluşu A.Ş.

Head of Legal / Legal Director
Cranmore Partners

Senior Legal Counsel
Yıldız Holding

Legal Counsel
IC İbrahim Çeçen Yatırım Holding A.Ş.

SVP, Legal and Compliance
Turkish Airlines

Senior Legal Counsel
Obilet Bilişim Sistemleri

Legal Counsel
İŞ ENERJİ YATIRIMLARI A.Ş.

Legal and Compliance Counsel
adidas Spor Malzemeleri Satış ve Pazarlama A.Ş.

Legal Counsel
Halk Bankası A.Ş.

Director of Legal and Compliance
HotelRunner

Chief Legal Counsel
Huseyin Bayraktar Yatırım Holding

Head of Corporate Affairs and Asset Management Department
JSC Akkuyu Nuclear

Legal Counsel - Competition & Compliance
Yıldız Holding

Legal and Compliance Unit Manager
Multinet

Legal Counsel
Siro Energy

Head of Legal and Compliance
Bankalararası Kart Merkezi (Interbank Card Center)

Senior Company Lawyer
Kiltoprak Trust Company

Deputy Legal Counsel
Rönesans Holding

General Counsel
TAV Havalimanları Holding

Chief Operating Officer, Global
Merzigo

Country Legal Director, Türkiye
Saint Gobain

Senior Legal Counsel
SOCAR Turkey Enerji A.Ş.

Legal Director
Öztreyler A.Ş.

Head of Legal, Ethics, Compliance and Quality
Novo Nordisk

Legal Counsel and Compliance Specialist
SOCAR Türkiye

Legal & Compliance Director
PEAKUP TEKNOLOJI A.Ş.

Head of Legal Affairs
Metro Properties Gayrimenkul Yatırım A.Ş.

Deputy Legal Counsel
İş Finansal Kiralama A.Ş. (İş Leasing)

Legal & Compliance Officer
Zeren Holding

Head of Legal
Hepsipay

Legal Director
PwC Türkiye

Legal Counsel
Koç University

Group Legal Director
Adil Katılım Bankası

Head of Legal and Compliance
Supplementler.com (Dikey Vitamin)

Head of Legal
EssilorLuxottica

Senior Legal Counsel
Turkcell

Legal & Compliance Officer
OKX

Head of Legal
PAVO GROUP

Legal & Compliance Director
Bilyoner

Risk, Compliance and Data Privacy Manager
Allianz

Senior Legal Counsel
Tiryaki Agro

Senior Legal Counsel
Yıldız Holding

Litigation and Legal Support Manager
Aksigorta

Senior Legal Counsel
Garanti BBVA

Corporate Lawyer
Göktekin Enerji A.Ş.

Legal Counsel
SOCAR Türkiye

Legal Coordinator
Petkim Petrokimya Holding A.Ş.

Legal and Compliance Manager
CNBC-e

Country Counsel
Otis Türkiye

Legal Team Leader
Enerjisa

Legal and Regulatory Affairs Director
YASED International Investors Association

Head of Group, Legal and Compliance Director
Samsung Electronics

Legal Advisor
Open English

Chief Legal Officer
ISS Turkey

Legal Counsel
SunExpress Airlines

Vice President, Legal and Compliance
Türkiye Wealth Fund

Director, Head Legal and Compliance META
Sandoz

Legal Counsel
SabancıDx

Legal Advisor
Anadolu Hayat Emeklilik A.Ş.

Legal Manager
QNB Finansbank - Enpara.com

Head of Legal & Compliance
McDonald’s Türkiye

Legal Director
Ata Holding A.Ş - TFI Tab Food Investments

Senior Legal Counsel
AKBANK

Senior Legal Counsel
Limak Group of Companies

Senior Legal Counsel
Rönesans Holding

Legal Executive
Ege Yeni Nesil Enerji Yatırım ve Yönetim A.Ş.

Legal Manager
Doğan Şirketler Grubu

Turkey Legal Director & Legal Ethics Officer
Coca-Cola

Senior Legal Counsel
SOCAR Turkey

Director of Legal Affairs and Compliance
ICA Yatırım ve İşletme

Lead Legal Counsel
Makyol İnşaat Sanayi Turizm ve Ticaret

Senior Legal Manager
Novartis

General Counsel
Türkiye Şişe ve Cam Fabrikaları A.Ş.

Deputy Legal Counsel
Doğuş Hospitality & Retail Group

Legal Counsel
Limak Group of Companies

Head of Compliance and Special Projects
Vodafone

Legal Counsel
SOCAR Terminal

Legal Counsel
Huseyin Bayraktar Yatırım Holding

Senior Legal Counsel
İstanbul Buyukşehir Belediyesi Hamidiye Kaynak Suları A.Ş.

Senior Legal Counsel and Compliance Officer
Enerjisa Enerji Üretim

Head of Legal
Sipay Elektronik Para ve Ödeme Hizmetleri A.Ş.

Head of Legal
Agrobest Grup

Head of Legal, Türkiye
The Kraft Heinz Company

Legal Advisor
PASHA Yatırım Bankası

General Counsel, Chief Legal Officer
TurkNet

Lawyer
Çalık Holding

Legal Counsel
PepsiCo Türkiye

Legal Counsel
Sandoz

Head Of Legal and Corporate Affairs
BRF

Chief Legal Counsel & Board Reporter
Hedef Investment Bank Inc.

Head of Legal and Compliance
Samsung Electronics

Legal Director

Legal Director
Doğan Şirketler Grubu

Senior Legal Manager
Türk Henkel Kimya San. ve Tic. A.Ş.

Lead Legal, Compliance and DPO as Country Head
Merck Group

Chief Legal Counsel
KORAY GROUP OF COMPANIES

Legal Affairs Supervisor
Anadolu Efes

Legal Counsel, Data Protection Officer
Yeni Gimat Gayrimenkul Yatırım Ortaklığı A.Ş.

Vice President, Legal and Compliance Department
Turkish Airlines

Head of Legal, Compliance and Ethics
Chiesi Turkey

Head of Legal Department
Hyundai Assan

Legal Manager
Türkiye Şişe ve Cam Fabrikaları A.Ş.

Senior Legal Counsel
PepsiCo Türkiye

Legal Counsel
Yapı Kredi Bankası A.Ş.

Legal Director
Sembol Construction

Data Privacy Manager
PepsiCo

Senior Legal Manager
Demirören Medya

Senior Legal Manager
Emaar Türkiye

Legal Coordinator
STAR Rafineri A.Ş.

Head of Legal
Redbull

Legal and Compliance Specialist
Fiba Sigorta A.Ş.

Country Counsel
HP Türkiye

Lawyer
Turkish Airlines

Head of Legal & Regulatory Affairs
Ak Yatırım (Ak Investment)

Global Legal Counsel
RE&UP Recycling Technologies

Head of Legal & Compliance
GOODYEAR LASTİKLERİ TÜRK ANONİM ŞİRKET

Senior Legal Counsel
Yemeksepeti

Legal Affairs Manager
GlaxoSmithKline

Legal Counsel - M&A and Business Law
Turkcell

Legal Counsel, DPO
Garanti BBVA

General Counsel & Executive Board Member
EYG GYO

Legal and Compliance Director
Haleon Turkey

Data Protection Lawyer
Bosch Türkiye and Middle East

Legal Counsel
Zorlu Holding

Legal Affairs Director
TANAP

Legal Counsel
Zorlu Holding A.Ş.

Senior Legal Counsel
Kale Holding A.Ş.

Legal Counsel
CarrefourSA

Data Privacy and Competition Legal Counsel
Turkcell

Legal Counsel
Norm Holding

Legal Counsel
Aselsen

Legal Counsel
World Medicine İlaç Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş

Legal Counsel
LG ELECTRONICS TİCARET A.Ş.

Lawyer
Aydem Holding AŞ

Legal Counsel
Batıçim Batı Anadolu Çimento Sanayii A.Ş.

Legal Counsel
LST Lojistik Servis Ticaret

Corporate / Compliance Legal Counsel
CK Enerji

Legal Counsel
Aydem Holding AŞ

Legal Counsel
Ford Otosan

Legal Expert
Ege Yeni Nesil Enerji Yatırım ve Yönetim A.Ş. (Borovalı Şirketler Grubu)

Specialist Attorney at Law
SOMPO

Head of legal, Türkiye
Klepierre Gayrimenkul

Legal Counsel
MAKYOL İnşaat Sanayi Turizm ve Ticaret A.Ş.

Legal, Ethics & Compliance Manager
Novo Nordisk

Legal Counsel
Eminevim - Emin Üstün Holding

In-House Legal Counsel
Haier Europe

Legal Advisor
Ege Yeni Nesil Enerji Yatırım ve Yönetim A.Ş. (Borovalı Şirketler Grubu)

Vice President of Legal and Compliance Department
Turkish Airlines

In-House Legal Counsel
Demirören Medya

Legal Counsel
Aydem Holding AŞ

Legal Affairs Counsel
Bor Holding

Attorney at law
PepsiCo Türkiye

Legal and Compliance Officer
McDonald’s Türkiye

Legal Counsel
Novartis Sağlık, Gıda ve Tarım Ürünleri San. ve Tic. A.Ş.

Legal Counsel
PepsiCo Türkiye

Lawyer
Zorlu Holding

Compliance Specialist
CK Enerji

Senior Legal Counsel
Mercedes-Benz Otomotiv

Legal Associate
LocAI Ltd