Board of Directors

MİKAYİL YUSIFOV

Yusifov began his professional career in 2008 as a manager at the Azerbaijan-NATO School affiliated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and served as Protocol Manager at the Central Bank of Azerbaijan until 2013. During the same period, he also worked as a lecturer at Khazar University in the fields of International Relations, Security, and Political Science.

Joining SOCAR Türkiye in 2013, Mikayil Yusifov has held positions as Protocol Manager, CEO’s Chief of Staff, and Director of the Management Office. Since October 2020, he has been serving as Head of Communications and Public Relations at SOCAR Türkiye. He also holds Board memberships in various group companies within SOCAR Türkiye.

VÜGAR ABDULLAH

In 1992, he was among the students sent by the State of Azerbaijan with a state scholarship to pursue higher education in Türkiye; he continued his studies in the Department of Business Administration at the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences of Selçuk University, graduating in 1998.

Between 1998 and 2016, he held senior executive positions at various companies operating in foreign trade in Konya. In 2016, he founded Sakasena Gıda Ürünleri Ambalaj Sanayi Ticaret ve Uluslararası Pazarlama Ltd. Şti. to operate in his area of professional expertise: the export of industrial food raw materials and flexible polymer packaging films.

Currently serving as the founder and General Manager of the same company, Vügar Abdullah speaks English and Russian. He is married and has one daughter and one son.

ZENFİRA ALİYEVA

Att. Zenfira ALIYEVA completed the Capital Markets and Commercial Law master’s program with her thesis titled “Brokerage Firms and Public Offering Intermediation Agreements” after graduating from Istanbul University Faculty of Law. She is currently pursuing her doctorate in the Field of Private Law at Altınbaş University.

During her university years, Att. Zenfira Aliyeva served in the management of civil society organizations and associations, making significant contributions to social responsibility projects. She has served as a speaker representing Türkiye and Azerbaijan at the United Nations Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, and as a delegate with DEİK at the Commercial Cooperation Council in Pakistan/Islamabad. As a lawyer with an extensive international network, Aliyeva also serves on the board of directors of the Istanbul Bar Association.

REFAİL EKBER

RAUF YUSUFOĞLU

Rauf Yusufoğlu was born in Georgia in 1978. Following his primary and secondary education, he studied International Economics at the Georgian Agricultural University between 1994 and 1999, graduating from this program.

Yusufoğlu stepped into business life with Rena Trading, which he founded in 2004. In 2014, he founded Yusufoğlu Madencilik, operating in the energy and coal sector in Istanbul, and Venera Trading in the United Arab Emirates. Through these structures, he initiated import activities from Kazakhstan, South Africa, and Australia.

Currently importing from approximately 4 countries and exporting to 10 countries, Yusufoğlu continues his activities in international trade. With facilities in Samsun, Trabzon, and Aliağa in Türkiye, Yusufoğlu Madencilik has a long-standing operational history in the sector.

AKİF MAMMADOV

KHALADDİN GULİYEV

Khaladdin Guliyev was born in Azerbaijan in 1967. He completed his high school education at Baku Chemistry-Biology High School No. 5; he completed his higher education in engineering at Voronezh Forestry Technical University and in pharmacy at the Faculty of Pharmacy of Kharkov National Pharmaceutical University.

With many years of experience in the pharmaceutical sector, Khaladdin Guliyev was engaged in pharmaceutical imports, exports, and domestic pharmaceutical warehouse activities for 35 years within the family company Pasha-K in Azerbaijan. In 2011, he founded Vefa İlaç Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş. in Türkiye; the company produces pharmaceuticals and food supplements in the Beylikdüzü Organized Industrial Zone.

Within the scope of an investment incentive certificate obtained from the Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Industry and Technology in 2023, a new pharmaceutical production facility investment has been initiated in the Kırklareli Organized Industrial Zone, and works are ongoing. Khaladdin Guliyev speaks Azerbaijani Turkish, Turkish, Russian, and English. He is married and has three children.

RÖVŞEN ŞAHBAZOV

URAL AKÜZÜM

EMİN İMANOV

Between 2000 and 2005, he held various positions at major commercial institutions such as Samsung and Coca-Cola.

In 2005, he started as operations manager at the Moscow office of BGN International Holding, and in 2007 he was appointed General Manager of the Swiss Commercial Entity located in Zug, Switzerland, where he worked until 2009. In 2009, he was appointed Director of the Trade Department at the company’s Istanbul office. He has continued his role as CEO at BGN International Holding, which he began in 2013. He also serves as an Independent Board Member of Galatasaray Sportif A.Ş.

TURAL MAMMADOV

Mammadov began his professional career in 2014 as General Manager of Türkiye Operations at ADY Express, the logistics subsidiary of Azerbaijan Railways. Since 2016, he has held various executive positions within SOCAR Türkiye related to real estate and administrative building construction processes.

Since July 2018, he has served as the General Manager of SCR Gayrimenkul, Müşavirlik ve İnşaat A.Ş., a subsidiary of SOCAR Türkiye. As of January 2024, he has also taken on the role of Director of Administrative Buildings Construction and Technical Management within the Refinery and Petrochemicals Business Unit. As of May 2025, he serves as Head of Social Development Administration at SOCAR.

YEGANE GULİYEVA

Yegane Guliyeva, born in 1981, is a graduate of the English Simultaneous Interpretation Department of Azerbaijan University. She moved to Istanbul in 2001 and began working in the media sector. In 2017, she founded TurkAz PR and TurkAz Magazine, focusing on her entrepreneurial career.

By organizing the Türkiye–Azerbaijan Businesswomen Summit, she contributed to the support of women’s entrepreneurship; she took over the chairmanship of the Türkiye–Azerbaijan Businesswomen Platform, which she founded in 2022.

She currently carries out brand launches, promotional activities, and commercial work supporting economic cooperation among Turkic states under the TurkAz PR and organization umbrella. She also serves as the Türkiye Representative of AQSIA, established under the Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan, and as the Azerbaijan representative of TTCI – the Organization of Turkic States Union of Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

AHMET MEHMETOĞLU

Born in Azerbaijan in 1982, Ahmet Mehmetoğlu completed his secondary education at Bursa Işıklar Military High School in 1997. Between 2001 and 2005, he studied at the Ankara Land Forces Military Academy and graduated with the rank of lieutenant. Following a one-year internship and field experience in the Turkish Armed Forces, he began active duty in the Azerbaijani Army in 2006. During his service period lasting until 2017, he was honored with a medal by President of Azerbaijan H.E. Ilham Aliyev for his outstanding achievements, and he voluntarily left the army with the rank of major. The same year, he settled in Türkiye and took over the management of the family company; since 2017, he has been managing the strategic growth and operations of group companies operating in the healthcare sector. He is married and has two children.

SAİDE ZÜLFİKAR

Saida Zulfikar was born in the city of Shamakhi, Azerbaijan, and completed her primary, secondary, and high school education in Russian in the city of Shamakhi. She successfully completed her university education in Baku, in the Azerbaijani language, at the Department of History and Philosophy of Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University.

She has been living in Türkiye since 1999. She is a mother of two sons.

In 2004, she began her entrepreneurial journey by opening a private kindergarten in Fatih, Istanbul, with the support of the Consulate of Ukraine. In 2010, she opened a sworn translation office under the name “Evrensel Tercüme.” Over time, she expanded her activities, restructured her business under the name Evrensel Danışmanlık ve Organizasyon Ticaret Limited Şirketi, and opened two more branches.

In addition to providing migration consultancy services to foreign nationals, the company also offers professional translation services.