Tuğçe Yosmaoğlu Tatari RC 04 Named Legal Director at Abdi İbrahim Pharmaceuticals

This is Tatari’s first role on the client side.

In May 2025, Tuğçe Yosmaoğlu Tatari joined Abdi İbrahim Pharmaceuticals, after spending the majority of her career in private practice. Tatri states that curiosity had drawn her into the field in the first place: “Law felt like a place where you are allowed to question, analyze, and connect dots. Over time, I realized that law is not just about rules; it is about people, decisions, and responsibility.”

For the RC students aspiring to become lawyers, Tatari  underlines that there is rarely a clear “right” answer: “I constantly balance legal requirements, business needs and timelines, often at the same time. One needs to learn to trust her judgment; that takes time and experience, and it is something I am still working on every day.”

Tatari sees a direct link between her RC education and her professional approach : “High school taught me how to think, not what to think. The emphasis on expressing ideas clearly and defending your opinions respectfully shaped the way I approach problems today.” 

 

New RC Alumni Association (RKMD) Board Meets RC Leadership at Bizim Tepe

On October 27, 2025, the newly elected Board of Directors of the Robert College Alumni Association (RKMD) came together with Head of School Whitman Shepard, the school’s senior leadership and Trustees at Bizim Tepe—once again reaffirming the deep and enduring connection between the College and its alumni community.

The gathering marked an important moment at the start of the new RKMD term, coming shortly after the launch of the Association’s first Endowment. With a shared sense of responsibility and purpose, participants discussed both current priorities and future opportunities, focusing on how to best serve the long-term interests of Robert College and its alumni.

For 68 years, RKMD has played a vital role in strengthening ties among alumni while supporting the school’s mission. Building on this legacy, the new Board emphasized its commitment to taking concrete, forward-looking steps—guided by collective insight and shared values—to address evolving needs and opportunities.

The Association also reiterated its dedication to transparency and open communication. Throughout the new term, RKMD will continue to share developments with the alumni community in a timely and well-documented manner, staying true to the principles of solidarity and accountability that are central to the RC experience.

Rooted in the strength of its alumni network, the trust of the school, and the mandate given at the General Assembly on October 19, 2025, RKMD enters this new chapter with a clear vision: to sustain and grow a lifelong community built on connection, contribution, and shared purpose.

The board members of the new term are as follows. 

President: Arif Akdağ RC 88

Vice President: Ali Sancar RC 86 

General Secretary: Ersu Ablak RC 98

Treasurer: Dila Şirin RC 16

Members: Damla Ilıca RC 16, Mert Tanal RC 09, Yaprak Kılıççı RC 89, Önder Dalkıran RC 89, Barış Güner RC 89, Aslı Berkol RC 88, Meltem Kayhan RC 86, Ali Yılmaz RC 85. 

Emre Turanlı RC 97 Appointed as Global CMO for Shell Mobility & Convenience

Turanlı moved into his new role as of January 1, 2026

Emre Turanlı’s long career at Shell has reached a new stage with his appointment as Global CMO for Shell’s Mobility and Convenience business. In his new role,  Turanlı will lead the development of mobility products, elevate the convenience retail experience, and shape how the company engages with more than 30 million customers in 83 countries. Turanlı states his responsibilities span the full gamut of marketing: “My responsibilities encompass fuels, mobility products, global shop formats, food & beverage brands such as Shell Café and Deli2Go, loyalty programs, as well as digital and analytics, strategic partnerships, and motorsports sponsorships, including the 75-year partnership with Ferrari.” Additionally, in his role as Senior Vice President Licensed Markets, he will oversee 60 countries, with more than 15,000 sites. Finally, Turanlı will also serve as the Chairman of the Board of Shell Brands International, serving as steward of the Shell brand.

Turanlı believes in the power of team sports as a model for building high-performing teams in business: “I am a very hands-on leader with a simple mental model of 10% Strategy and 90% execution. I reduce hierarchy, and stay very close to the teams on the ground and customers. “ Indeed, Turanlı’s lifelong involvement in sports—beginning at age five and continuing through RC and beyond—exemplifies the positive impact of sports on leadership.

Burak Cendek RC 00 Appointed Managing Director at Autotech Ventures

Cendek Highlights the Convergence of AI and the Physical Economy.

After RC, Burak Cendek studied electrical engineering at Caltech where he gained exposure to robotics, and later earned an MBA from Chicago Booth. His career has always focused on the intersection of technology and industry, exploring how complex, traditional sectors adopt new tools.  This trajectory led him to the venture capital firm Autotech Ventures, a Menlo Park–based VC firm managing ~$600M. In his new role, Cendek leads the investments in early-stage companies across industrials and transportation.

Cendek states these sectors deserve focused investment because they underpin the physical economy: “The movement of people and goods relies on large-scale systems that remain inefficient, fragmented, and slow to change, creating sustained opportunity for new technology. Some of the most exciting developments today are agentic AI and the rise of physical AI, including robotics and automation that operate directly in the physical world.”


For RC alumni and students interested in the intersection of technology and ground mobility, Cendek’s advice is simple: “Build! It has never been easier to start. Identify a real pain point, begin working on it, and iterate quickly. Building is the fastest way to understand both technology and markets.”

Taylan Özdemir Aydın RC 21 Secures Funding For Startup

Flyway Health Does AI- Based Data Analysis The seed of Flyway Health was planted when Aydın and his co-founder and college roommate Andre Biehl realized the magnitude of the data analytics gap between what was being done and what was actually possible in the phatmaceutical space with agentic applications. Success followed after hard work, and their company secured a one-million dollar investment before they even graduated. A seed round of three million dollars followed within the same year. Aydın offers a strategic perspective to RC students tempted to leave school early for the startup world: “One reason to stay is that college can function as an informal startup incubator. It’s a place where you can build and fail dozens of times before finding something that naturally sticks, without the full pressure of the outside world. At the very least, you might meet a friend and a future cofounder, just as I did. Enjoy your high school, college years, and keep building!” Reflecting on his foundation at Robert College, Aydın credits both sides of the RC curriculum for his success: “When it comes to technical problem-solving, I owe my intellectual rigor to the mathematics and science teachers at RC,” he explains. “But when it comes to understanding people—interpreting what a client truly needs beyond what is explicitly said—I owe that to the breadth of my social sciences education. From literature to philosophy, my teachers encouraged open discussion, questioning, and nuance in how we  approached ideas and people.”

Duygu Nahum RC 08 Appointed to Key Leadership Position at Kurtsan

Duygu is now the general manager responsible for commercial operations.

As of October 2025, Duygu Nahum has stepped into the role of  general manager responsible for commercial operations at Kurtsan.  A 70-year-old institution, Kurtsan continues to play a pioneering role in Turkey’s consumer health sector. Nahum values her role deeply, joining a distinguished line of  family members and professionals who have contributed to Kurtsan with dedication and rigor.

Nahum finds her role both meaningful and energizing, as it revolves around supporting people’s health every day.  Through brands like Otacı and Roll, she focuses on providing holistic solutions across individuals’ lifelong health journeys—science-led, nature-inspired, and technology-backed.

Nahum credits her time at RC as a significant asset to her professional life: “Beyond its reputation and esteem, the discipline and resilience I gained at RC have shaped my sense of responsibility, perseverance, and leadership—values that continue to guide my professional journey.”