TUSIAD Innovation Seminar

Turkish Industry and Business Association (TUSIAD) organized a seminar on innovation on March 14th in Istanbul, and the objective of the seminar is to encourage the university students to think differently and innovatively.

Ziya Boyacıgiller - Endeavour Advisory Board Member, Haluk Zontul – General Manager of Teknoloji Yatırım and Samir Deliormanlı – IP Licence Manager of Koç Conglomerate, from both academia and business world, attended the event. I am as a TUSIAD Technology and Innovation Working Group  President and Intel Middle East, Turkey and Africa Regional Director mostly talked about corporate innovations especially and to some extent individual innovations in her session. My ultimate message, to be remembered by the young people there, was that ‘Whatever you are doing right now, always think about how you can do it differently. That’s the only way you can add value to your life.’

Click here for the details.

Short blog on a reunion

We cramped half of lives in half hour hastily; and everything difficult popped out in no time. ‘I lost the blue painting, ‘out in cold in Toronto’’. He said ‘I will paint you another one.’ Then both of us queried ‘did you ever get to doing good?’ Long pauses of mumblings, half there. Then he asked ‘Where is the book?’; and soul got pinned to the bricks behind me.

Thought this is like Marquez’s hundred years of solitude coming in full circle. Too long to explain why.

Celebrating our women

  

To our wonderful strong women in Middle East, Turkey and Africa. You folks are one of the biggest inspiration and reasons why I come to work every day and strive to make this company even a better place to work. I see that you folks evolve and grow stronger every year and your careers flourish and I want to reaffirm that we are here right behind you to support your growth in whatever you wish to achieve in the future too. I am reading Mary Robinson’s 'Everybody Matters' these days; former President of Ireland who I got to meet. She had an amazing spark that came from her courage and armed with a mission to change the world for women and every other person who didn’t have a voice. When I met with Sally Ride who was the first woman in space and Hellen Clark, former prime minister of New Zealand, I saw the similar relentless strive to carry on to do good.

We women can do and can be.

Happy women’s day to all of you from your very proud woman colleague:)

Ayse  

“Never believe that a few caring people can't change the world. For, indeed, that's all who ever have.”

Margaret Mead (1902-1978), Cultural Anthropologist

Journey in the Magical Kingdom of the Andes

Cuzco Town

Peru has been in the plans for me for two years now; and despite the altitude risk; enormous distance and hours of air travel—I was determined to go up to Machu Picchu before end of February. And boy, was it worth it. Long trip from Las Vegas to Lima and on to Cuzco where 3400 meters altitude hit you like a rock. I spent sometime in modern Peru, doing the museums, seaside and the famous food of Lima. On to Cuzco, the capital of the Incas for hundreds of years and the main point where roads in south America met.

Young people to carry Turkey into the future...

A better community through technology and innovation 

We just announced The “Young Ideas; Powerful Women” Project as Intel, together with Turkish Ministry of Family and Social Policies and the Women Entrepreneurs Association of Turkey (KAGİDER). The project aims to mobilize the youth to develop innovative solutions to tackle issues women face in Turkey. 

I speak at EFNI

I am speaking  as a panelist in the Plenary Session “Shared challenges facing Turkey and European Union in a globalized world” at European Forum for New Ideas (EFNI) in Gdansk, Poland together with Mr Zbigniew Brzeziński (Center for Strategic & International Studies, USA), Mr Ludwik Sobolewski (President, Polish Stock Exchange –GPW-, Poland), Ms Beata Stelmach (Undersecretary of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Poland), Mr Jürgen Thumann (President, BUSINESSEUROPE, Germany), Mr Cevdet Yilmaz (Minister of Development, Turkey) on Friday, September 28 at 9 am CET.  Click here for the details!