- Erol Sabancı
Erol Sabancı (born 1938), a member of the renowned
Sabancı family in second generation, is a billionaire Turkishbanker .Biography
Erol Sabanci is the Honorary Chairman of
Akbank and the doyen of Turkish bankers. He has been board member of Akbank since 1963, Turkey’s most valuable and profitable bank.Erol Sabanci was born in Akçakaya village in central
Turkey near the town ofKayseri in 1938, as the fifth son ofHacı Ömer Sabancı , whom laid the foundation of one of the greatest fortunes in the world, and Sadıka.Erol Sabanci completed his secondary education at the Tarsus American College. In 1956 he went to
England to study at theManchester College of Commerce . Erol Sabanci returned toTurkey in 1958 and the following year joined the army for his two year military service. In 1960 he joined his elder brothers at the holding company as manager of the family flour mill and the financial director of the textile firm Bossa.In 1963 was elected board member of Akbank as representative of the Sabanci shares. At that time Akbank, which was formed by a group of industrialists in 1948, had 63 branches and was the smallest of the four large private banks. In 1966 the Sabancis acquired majority control of Akbank.
In 1970 Erol Sabanci quit his other positions in
Sabanci Holding , except his chair at the board, and moved to Istanbul to become the managing director of Akbank. Four years later the headquarters of Sabanci Holding were moved to Istanbul.Serving as a Member of the Board of Directors and the Vice Chairman of the Board since 1967, Erol Sabancı held the position of Chairman of the Board from March 1998 to March 2008. Erol Sabancı was elected Honorary Chairman and Consultant to the Board on March 28, 2008. Mr. Sabancı also serves as the Vice Chairman of the Board of Sabancı Holding.
Erol Sabanci is married to Belkis and has two daughters, one of whom,
Suzan Sabanci Dinçer , is Chairman and Managing Director of Akbank. Erol Sabancı is a grandfather of four.
=References=
* [http://www.sabanci.com.tr/En/popup_yonetim_erolsabanci.asp Biography at Sabancı Holding website]
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