Turkey

IIkay Demirdag, Head of Investor Relations at Enerjisa, Turkey

IIkay.Demirdag@wbaforum.org
Ilkay Demirdag is a senior executive with 20+ years of experience gained at large multinational firms and conglomerates in the UK, Turkey and Bahrain. Her C-level experience covers a broad range of areas including Corporate Finance, M&A, Fund Raising, Investor Relations and ESG with measurable performance in leading conglomerates, private equity firms and multinational corporations.
 Ilkay leads corporations with her diversified and international experience and has a proven track record of creating and maximising value for shareholders, whilst capitalizing on cross-functional team leadership. She has performed on both the buy side and sell side, as well as acting as a consultant and banker in transactions, which gives her a comprehensive perspective. Her expertise comprises the spectrum of Debt Transactions (project finance, bond issuances), Equity Transactions (fund structuring, fund raising, deal origination, private equity, mergers & acquisitions, IPOs), Strategic Planning (capital allocation, portfolio management, business development), Investor Relations, Corporate Governance and Sustainability. 
Ilkay joined Enerjisa Enerji, a JV of Sabanci Holding and E.ON, in 2018, prior to the IPO of the company as Head of Investor Relations and set up the Investor Relations Department. Following the IPO, within 2 years the company has been included in FTSE All-World Index, MSCI Small Cap (Turkey) Index, BIST Sustainability Index and BIST Corporate Governance Index. Total Shareholder Return in 2019 has been 57% and has overperformed BIST30 by 36%. Ilkay also leads Corporate Governance and Sustainability initiatives at Enerjisa to create value for ESG investors. Her leadership brought the company to Corporate Governance Index at Borsa Istanbul, following a comprehensive governance assessment led by Ilkay. Prior to Enerjisa she acted as a Financial Affairs Director at Çalık Holding, Investment Manager at the Islamic Development Bank’s Infrastructure Fund in Bahrain, Coordinator for establishment of an infrastructure fund for Akfen Holding, Principal in the foundation of €100m Clean Energy fund in Turkey. Ilkay spent 10 years in London prior to that as a consultant and banker.   
Ilkay is a visionary, inventive and result-driven senior leader and has exposure to global markets with an extensive network and ability to originate and structure high value cross-border deals and execute effectively. Ilkay has flexibility of approach combined with a high level of drive, commitment and enthusiasm and has excellent communication and leadership skills.  
Ilkay has dual citizenship from Turkey and UK. She has completed Private Equity and Venture Capital Executive Programme in Harvard Business School (2012), Advanced Corporate Finance Executive Programme at LBS (2011), MSc in “Economics and Management” at the University College London (2004), MSc (2001) and BSc (1998) in “Architecture” at the Istanbul Technical University. She has been selected as one of the mentees of the Women on Board Programme and has completed 2-year programme for independent board membership organized by Women on Board Association. 
In addition to her professional career, she is a philanthropist and social entrepreneur for women empowerment. She is the founder of Equality Movement, which aims to empower women at workplace and support gender diversity in Turkey. With her movement, she reached over 10 million people and received the “Social Responsibility Project of the Year” and “Social Entrepreneur of the Year” Awards in 2019. Ilkay has also been selected as one of “48 Inspiring Women in Turkey” by Dünya Newspaper in 2018. 
An active participant in the activities of non-governmental organizations, she acted as the Vice President of GYIAD (Young Executive Business People and Entrepreneurs Association) and President of the Women Working Group between (2017 – 2019). She takes active role in the working groups of leading NGOs of Turkey to support sustainable development, capital markets, corporate governance, board membership and women empowerment such as; TUSİAD, TUYİD, TKYD, SKD, UN Global Compact, and Women on Board Association.