Congratulations to these successful women who have been nominated by the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce. They will be receiving their awards at the 16th Annual IWEC Foundation Conference Nov. 5-7th in Turin, Italy.
Vennas Akyol Haznedar, Founder, Akyol Gida Turizm Otel Insaat Petrol Ticaret Limited, www.vennbutikotel.com
Vennas is a true entrepreneur having started her first venture, a cafe in Samsun Airport in 1998. She proceeded to then opened 4 additional businesses. Her expansion involved full service restaurants, car parks, catering to airlines and a boutique hotel, all under the name “Venn.” Her airline catering company was one of only three companies in the country to be offering these services. And she was the first and only female entrepreneur in the world to offer such services. The business grew to providing to domestic and international airlines in the Black Sea and Anatolia.
The company currently does business in Turkey but Vennas and she wishess to establish a hotel and restaurant chain in neighboring countries and grow from there.
Nur Gokman, CEO, Hitit, www. Hitit.com
After an extensive career in Computer programming and systems development wth Turkish Airlines (a rarity to find a woman in the sector), Nur embarked on a risky journey over 30 years ago to help to found Hitit, which is the first company in Turkey in the aviation infomatics sector. At the time, she started with just two computers and one fax machine and has built the company into one of the largest aviation tech companies in the world. The business developed one of the first loyalty software products in the industry-a frequent flyer program-which became widely used by 40 airlines.
Hitit currently serves 67 airline companies and travel partners in 47 countries across Europe, Africa, Asia Middle East, the Americas and Australia. The business is expanding in Asia Pacific Europe and the Americas and can be applicable to any airline in the world.
Dr. Gokce Yildirim Kalkan, CEO, Simsoft Computer Technologies, LTD., www.simsoft.com.tr
Dr. Kalkan helped to establish Simsoft, which operates in simulator systems, games, visual systems, defense, aviation and space. It is one of the fastest-growing IT companies in Turkey and EMEA region. Simsoft’s many products include simulators being used by both national and international civil and military organizations. Their commitment to diversity and inclusion and ethical values has been recognized by Deloitte as well as several other entities. Their most recent award is the “Fastest Export Increasing Woman Entrepreneur Company.” Simsoft has consistently pushed the boundaries of innovation and creative problem solving, bringing the company to a high standard of achievement.
The company does business in Turkey, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Gokce wishes to expand further into countries in the EMEIA and Southeast Asia regions.