Leadership

After graduating with double majors in industrial engineering and mechanical engineering, Esma Gulten embarked on her career at Siemens, an internationally recognized giant company. Following the successful completion of her university education, she assumed significant roles in various fields such as marketing, business development, strategic planning, project management, and corporate management. Over time, she ascended to a prominent position as the leader of the Strategy and Business Development department of Siemens' Energy Business Unit. The outstanding leadership and strategic thinking she demonstrated in these roles helped her become a recognized figure in the industry.

After achieving success in her professional career, Esma Gulten embraced the spirit of entrepreneurship and forged a new path as the co-founder and CEO of Gizil company. Operating in the engineering and digitalization sectors, Gizil GmbH quickly gained renown in Europe's oil, gas, chemical, and tank terminals sectors. Gizil's vision and innovative approach enabled the company to pioneer the digital twin management platform field with its award-winning Virtual Plant software.

In 2024, Gizil GmbH was recognized by Germany's Scale Up NRW program, commissioned by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Action, and Energy of The State Of North Rhine-Westphalia. This success positioned the company among those with unicorn potential and further solidified Esma Gulten's status as one of the leading female entrepreneurs in the sector. She serves as an exemplary figure, showcasing how technical expertise and leadership skills can elevate both a company and women's entrepreneurship.

On March 12, 2024, Esma Gulten achieved a significant milestone that highlighted emerging stars in the tank terminal industry and honored individuals regarded as future leaders. She was awarded the bronze award in the Rising Star category at the Global Tank Storage Awards. This award is part of a campaign recognizing excellence in the tank storage and future fuel industry and identifying individuals with the potential to become industry leaders. Simultaneously, she was named in the "Forty Under 40" list at StocExpo, the tank terminals industry's premier event, further affirming her impact and leadership potential. These achievements represent important milestones, acknowledging both Esma Gulten's accomplishments with Gizil and her personal professional development.

Esma Gulten also contributes to the enhanced representation of women in STEM fields and entrepreneurship. Her story underscores the significance of determination, passion, and innovation on the journey to success.

Ali Utku Can is a multidisciplinary engineer with dual degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Electrical Engineering, further enriched by a Master’s degree in Automatic Control. After completing his academic training, he commenced his career at Tupras Refineries, one of Europe's largest refineries, where he joined as a promising young talent in the investments department.

During his tenure at Tupras, Ali Utku Can played critical roles in large-scale and strategically important projects. Notable among these were the $2.4 billion Resid Upgrading Project (2009-2012), which included an 80 MW Cogeneration Power Plant and Auxiliary Services, the $100 million Gasoline Specifications Improvement Project (2007-2009), and the $360 million Diesel Hydro Treating Reformer Project (2003-2007), which also featured a 40 MW Cogeneration Power Plant. His success in these projects demonstrated his exceptional expertise in both technical prowess and project management capabilities.

Combining his deep knowledge in engineering and technical leadership with an entrepreneurial spirit, Ali Utku Can co-founded and now serves as the COO of Gizil GmbH. Gizil operates in the fields of engineering and digitalization and has quickly become a notable name in Europe's oil, gas, chemical, and tank terminal industries. The company’s award-winning Virtual Plant software has brought a breath of fresh air to the digital twin management platform sector.

In 2024, Gizil GmbH successfully entered Germany's Scale Up NRW program, marking it as a company with unicorn potential. Under Ali Utku Can’s technical leadership, Gizil not only continues to offer technological innovations but also redefines industry standards by integrating engineering disciplines with digital solutions. Ali Utku Can stands out as a pivotal figure driving change and growth in the industry by merging technical excellence with innovative entrepreneurship.

Sinem Solak, born in Bursa in the year of 1984 and graduated from Eskişehir Osmangazi University Chemical Engineering Department in 2006. She worked as the quality management representative of the plastic factory in Bursa for about 2 years. She worked as SİSBEL certification manager and management representative between 2008-2022. Solak is the lead auditor of ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, ISO 27001, ISO 10002 management systems. In this context, she worked as a lead auditor/auditor in approximately 200 audits within the scope of TÜRKAK accreditation. In addition to auditing the management systems, she also took part in the creation of the document system of the organizations, the establishment of the management systems and the improvement of their processes. As a quality manager, she managed the establishment and execution of accreditation standards (ISO 17020, ISO 17021, ISO 17024). She is the lead auditor trainer for management systems such as ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 27001, ISO 45001, ISO 22000, ISO 10002, and also gave more than 100 certified Internal audit, basic and documentation training. Solak, as a B-class HSE expert, has 10 years of HSE expertise.

She is married and has two children.

Burhan AKDOĞAN was born in Elazığ in 1984. He graduated from Near East University Faculty of Law in 2008. He completed legal internship to qualify as an attorney at law in 2010. He set up Nafi Law and Mediation Office with partners in 2011. While he was continuing Lawyer, he completed the mediation training and took mediation certificate in 2016. His assay named Application to International Legal Remedies and ECHR was published journel of law readings in 2012. He works in the fields of Company Law, Commercial Law, Labour and Social Security Law, Medical Law, Mediation. He is doing studies in the field of cinema and law.

Otherwise he actively takes part in civil society organizations and foundation, plays tennis.

Selim Cek, born in Istanbul in the year of 1982, graduated from Sakarya University Electrical Engineering Department 2008 and then. After graduating, Mr. Cek began to his professional life in Industrial Design Company in Istanbul. Mr. Cek focused to power system analysis, automatic control Systems and renewable energy in his Professional carrier. Mr. Cek use professonally Etap, Pvsyst, Dialux and Eplan software.

Serdar Dogngunes was born in 1985 in Ankara and graduated from Kocaeli University Civil Engineering Department in 2008. In 2009, he received his Master's Degree on Earthquake Engineering at Gebze Technical University.

In a long time as senior structural engineering and project manager, project planning, tender proposal studies, drawing processes, project organization, quality control according to standards, business plan preparation and project design follow-up, reinforced concrete-steel design, rough and fine construction at all levels of the application and responsibility found. Mr. Doğangüneş continued his career as a civil engineer until 2013-2014 in the same company.

At various times, he took part in American Embassy projects in countries such as Macedonia, Indonesia, Serbia and Iraq.

In 2014, he founded Mosproje, a design and application company. Continuing his active duty here until 2017, Dogangunes joined the Gizil team in 2018 as the Civil & Structure Engineering Manager after his job in Sigma Engineering as Project Manager.

Serdar Dogangunes is married and has a child. 

Muhammed Madak is responsible for information technologies, reality capture, surveying, BIM, 3D smart modelling, VR/AR applications, and other software development activities as a Digitalization Manager. 

Muhammed has experience with laser scanning, photogrammetry, information systems, VR/AR applications, and unmanned/manned aerial vehicles specialized for photogrammetry/LiDAR applications. He was involved in a project that production of airborne laser scanner skilled advanced unmanned aerial vehicle in his earlier career as a project manager. He worked as a design engineer, lead engineer, and manager in Gizil on many projects in digital engineering, digital twin, and digitalization for OMV, Tupras, Petkim, Botas, Polisan, Shell, AKSA, and others. 

Ozan Senoğlu, born in Aksehir in the year of 1972, graduated from Middle East Technical University, Physics Department of Arts & Science Faculty in 1996. After graduating, Mr. Senoglu began to his professional life in Isbank IT Department as a software specialist and assigned as a project manager in this department until he moved to Electrical Heat Tracing Business with Raychem brand in 2006. He had several opportunities to experience in EHT parts of multi-disciplinary international projects with several positions during the second era of his 26 years career.

Mr. Senoglu, actively interested in playing string and woodwind instruments, cycling, and has a daughter.

Ehsan Naghibijouibari, born in 1984, completed his undergraduate education in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran. He has over 13 years of experience as a Piping Designer/Lead Engineer in the oil & gas, mineral processing, and water & wastewater treatment industries. He specializes in E3D and PDMS and is familiar with SP3D. He is skilled in pipe support checking and pipe stress analysis using CAESAR II, and is capable of working both independently and within a team.

He is currently working as a Lead Piping Engineer.

He is married and has a son.

Kadir Ozcelik, born in 1994, completed his undergraduate education in Computer Programming at Marmara University. Early in his career, he was part of the core team at xformbuilder, a startup focused on dynamic surveys, forms, and tests. He also contributed to the launch of a security software application still used in many organizations, working in biometrics and RFID.

Kadir played a key role in a human resources startup and developed corporate solutions for various companies for two years. In the aviation sector, he created a web-based simulation to measure airport capacity at Sabiha Gökçen Airport and developed an application to calculate cargo load distribution for an airline. He also worked on e-commerce payments, introducing digital wallets and developing bank integrations for three years.

He is currently a Lead Software Specialist. He is married and has one child.

Said Kilinc, born in Istanbul in 1994, completed his undergraduate education in the Psychology Department at Istanbul Commerce University. He then pursued a master's degree in Clinical Psychology at Maltepe University. While continuing his master's education, he founded a start-up IT company that offered IT solutions to clients and developed its own projects, managing all human resources processes from scratch and end-to-end.

In September 2022, Said Kilinc joined Gizil and is currently responsible for human resources operations for Gizil .

Throughout his career, he has been responsible for recruitment, performance evaluation and management, personnel training processes, and internal communication activities.

He is married and has a daughter.

Ozan Mert Uzer, born in 1990, spearheads marketing communication strategies and initiatives as a Marketing Communication Lead, specializing in crafting compelling narratives and engaging content.

His expertise spans across social media management, content creation, influencer marketing, and campaign optimization. Prior to his current role, Ozan Mert Uzer worked in graphic design and campaign management at agencies.

Ozan honed his skills in market research, brand positioning, and customer engagement.

He joined Gizil in 2021 and continues to work as a Marketing Communication Lead.