Zeynep Dereli
Technology and Human Colleges, Founder & CEO
At the beginning of her career she worked in the merger and acquisition department of Dundas & Ünlü Securities in Istanbul. After this job she was involved in risk analysis, research and regulatory compliance teams at Shell Trading and Shipping in London. After returning to Turkey, she worked as a financial analyst and procurement analyst in Shell Turkey.
In the second part of her career, she continued her duties in various institutions that supported the development of Turkey’s economy. First, she was the director of the Black Sea Energy and Economic Forum of the Atlantic Council. She also prepared and presented the weekly “Leaders and Decisions” program on the political agenda at SKY Turk and CNBC-E channels. Later, she became the General Coordinator of a think tank called the Turkish Policy Forum. In addition to all of these, she was also the Founder and CEO of GLOW Communications and APCO Turkey. Prior to that, she created and executed a social responsibility project called the DRUM (Dialogue, Respect and Understanding through Music).
Later in her career, she examined different education models around the world and after 2 years of research she founded Turkey’s first and only technology college Tink, Technology and Humanity Colleges, in order to educate the next generation with digital literacy and entrepreneurship skills while maintaining the local cultural needs.
She holds a master’s degree in Development Economics from SOAS University in London and a degree in Engineering and Middle East Research from Princeton University. She is also a board member at Turkish British Chamber of Commerce, Digit4Turkey and Endeavor which she is also a founding member.