Ömer Koç

Mehmet Ömer Koç (born March 24, 1962) is a Turkish businessman, art collector, and chairman of Koç Holding. In 2013, Forbes ranked him the 1268th richest person in the world with a net worth of US$1.1 billion.[1]

Mehmet Ömer Koç
Koç in 2016
Born
Mehmet Ömer Koç

(1962-03-24) 24 March 1962
Ankara, Turkey
EducationRobert College
Millfield
Columbia College(BA)
Columbia Business School(MBA)
OccupationBusinessman
Known forPresident of Koç Holding and Tüpraş
ParentRahmi Koç (father)
RelativesVehbi Koç (grandfather)
Mustafa Vehbi Koç (brother)
Ali Koç (brother)
WebsiteOfficial website

Early life

Koç was born on March 24, 1962, in Ankara, Turkey. A third generation of the Koç family, he is the second son of Rahmi Koç and grandson of Vehbi Koç, founder of Koç Holding.[2]

He graduated from Robert College in Istanbul, attended Millfield School in England, studied at Georgetown University before graduating from Columbia College in 1985 with a bachelor's degree in Ancient Greek. He obtained his MBA from Columbia Business School in 1989.[3][4]

Career

Koç began his business career working at Kofisa Trading Company in Geneva, Switzerland. He joined the family business in 1992 as a finance coordinator and was vice president and president of the Energy Group. He became a member of the board of directors in 2004 and vice chairman in 2008.[3]

Shortly after his brother, Mustafa Vehbi Koç, died after a heart attack in 2016, Koç was elected chairman of Koç Holding, Turkey's largest company, in 2016.[5] The company's output contributes nearly 10 percent of Turkey’s total GDP and is the only Turkish company on the Fortune 500 list.[5]

He is also chairman of Tüpraş, the largest oil refiner and industrial company in the country.[6][7][8] He is chairman of the board of trustees of Koç University.[9]

As of January 2018, Koc owns 0.74% of Koç Holding.[10] He sits on the steering committee of the Bilderberg meeting.[11]

Art collection

Not much of Koç's personal life is known as he shies away from the public and media.[4] He lives in London and is known for his fondness for both contemporary and classical art.[4][12][13][14]

He is a sponsor of the Istanbul Biennial and Turkey's pavilion at the Venice Biennale.[15] He established the nonprofit art space Arter in 2010.[16][14]

For his sponsorship of Turkey's contemporary art scene, he was named by ArtReview as of the 100 Most influential people in 2016 in the contemporary artworld.[15]

He also maintains an interest in Ottoman art, and has a large Iznik pottery collection.[17] He is reported to have the finest private collection of objects and books about Ottoman history in the world.[16][18][19]

References
  1. "Mehmet Omer Koc". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  2. ""Seeing is not feeling." Ömer Koç's advice to Istanbul explores". The Guide Istanbul. 2020-01-27. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  3. "Ömer M. Koç | Chairman". www.koc.com.tr. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  4. "Ömer Mehmet Koç Kimdir ? - Ömer Mehmet Koç Hayatı ve Biyografisi". www.haberler.com. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  5. "Turkey: Omer Koc elected chairman of Koc Holding". www.aa.com.tr. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  6. "Largest Turkish refiner Tupras 'has cut runs at Izmir refinery by 50% due to pandemic impact on fuel demand'". www.intellinews.com. 2020-03-30. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  7. "Tüpraş to halt output at oil refinery in İzmir - Latest News". Hürriyet Daily News. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  8. "TUPRF | Tupras Turkiye Petrol Rafinerileri A.S. Company Profile & Executives - WSJ". www.wsj.com. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  9. "Commemorated for Eternity". 👍 #iyileşeceğiz. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  10. "Koç'taki bilmece: Caroline Koç'un hisseleri". T24 (in Turkish). Retrieved 2021-08-28.
  11. "STEERING COMMITTEE". www.bilderbergmeetings.org. Retrieved 2021-09-19.
  12. Miller, Catherine. "Sex, death and ceramics". Financial Times. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  13. "Ali Koç ve Ömer Koç kimdir?". www.hurriyet.com.tr (in Turkish). Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  14. "'Game-changer' museum to open in Istanbul in time for city's biennial". www.theartnewspaper.com. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  15. "Ömer Koç". artreview.com. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  16. "Turkey's contemporary art scene". Financial Times. November 26, 2010. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  17. "Cornucopia Magazine : Iznik: The Ömer Koç Collection". www.cornucopia.net. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  18. Humphries, Oscar (2013-09-01). "Turkish delight". Apollo. 178 (612): 62–67.
  19. "ÖMER KOÇ KOLEKSİYONUNDAN 500 YILLIK ÇİNİ MAŞRAPA ÇALINDI - SalonAntik". www.salonantik.com. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
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