Mehmet Omer Koç

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Mehmet Ömer Koç
Ömer M. Koç.jpg
Born (1962-03-24) 24 March 1962 (age 59)
Ankara, Turkey
NationalityTurkish
EducationColumbia Business School
Alma materColumbia College
OccupationBusinessman
Known forChairman of Koç Holding and TÜPRAŞ
Parent(s)Rahmi Koç (father)
RelativesVehbi Koç (grandfather)
Mustafa Vehbi Koç (brother)
Ali Koç (brother)

Mehmet Ömer Koç (born March 24, 1962) is a Turkish businessman, art collector, and chairman of Koç Holding. In 2013, Forbes ranked him as No.1268 richest person in the world with a net worth of $1.1 billion.[2]

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.[3]

He graduated from the exclusive Robert College in Istanbul, 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.[4][5]

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 served as vice president and president of the Energy Group. He became a member of the Board of Directors in 2004 and Vice Chairman in 2008.[4]

Shortly after his brother, Mustafa Vehbi Koç, passed away after a heart attack in 2016, Koç was elected chairman of Koç Holding, Turkey's largest company, in 2016.[6] The company's output contributes nearly 10 percent of Turkey’s total GDP and is the only Turkish company on the Fortune 500 list.[6]

He also serves as the chairman of Tüpraş, the largest oil refiner and industrial company in the country.[7][8][9] He is also chairman of the board of trustees of Koç University, frequently ranked among the best universities in Turkey.[10]

As of January 2018, Koc owns 0.74% of Koç Holding.[11]

Art Collection[]

Not much of Koç's personal life is known as he shies away from the public and media.[5] He lives in London and is known for his fondness for both contemporary and classical art.[5][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 owns large Iznik pottery collection.[17] He is reported to possess the finest private collection of objects and books about Ottoman history in the world.[16][18][19]

References[]

  1. ^ "Mehmet Omer Koc".
  2. ^ "Mehmet Omer Koc". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  3. ^ ""Seeing is not feeling." Ömer Koç's advice to Istanbul explores". The Guide Istanbul. 2020-01-27. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b "Ömer M. Koç | Chairman". www.koc.com.tr. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Ömer Mehmet Koç Kimdir ? - Ömer Mehmet Koç Hayatı ve Biyografisi". www.haberler.com. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b "Turkey: Omer Koc elected chairman of Koc Holding". www.aa.com.tr. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  7. ^ "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.
  8. ^ "Tüpraş to halt output at oil refinery in İzmir - Latest News". Hürriyet Daily News. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  9. ^ "TUPRF | Tupras Turkiye Petrol Rafinerileri A.S. Company Profile & Executives - WSJ". www.wsj.com. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  10. ^ "Commemorated for Eternity".