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Ahmet Bolat is the Chairman of the Board and the Executive Committee of Turkish Airlines since January 2022. 

Bolat is also the Chairman of the Service Exporters' Association of Türkiye (HİB). 



Early life and education
Ahmet Bolat was born in Konya, a city in the Central Anatolia Region of Türkiye in 1959. He enrolled at Istanbul Technical University (İ.T.Ü.) and earned his Industrial Engineering Degree in 1981.

Bolat pursued further academic studies and attended the Stanford University in San Francisco, U.S.A.. Having graduated from a M.Sc. Operations Research program at the same university, he went on to earn a Ph.D. degree in Industrial and Operations Engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, U.S.A.

Career
Following his industry career debut at Yıldız Kalıp, a machinery manufacturer in İstanbul, as a Design & Production Engineer in 1981, Bolat pursued further academic studies. He worked at the University of Michigan for three years (1985-1988) as a Teaching Assistant, Assistant Professor and Associate Professor.

In 1988, he moved to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to work as Assistant Professor, Associate Professor and Professor, respectively, at the Industrial Engineering Department of King Saud University. His tenure lasted until 2005, when he was appointed Senior Vice President of Investment Management at Turkish Airlines Inc. During his academic life, Bolat has written various articles as well as supervising theses.

Turkish Airlines
Bolat held several senior positions at the airline for 17 years before taking over the helm in January 2022 as the Chairman of the Board and the Executive Committee. 

In 17 years of service, Bolat first served as SVP, Investment Management between 2005-2012, and then as Chief Investment and Technology Officer for 10 years. At this post, Bolat managed strategic growth plan of Turkish Airlines and led the team which procured around 550 aircraft to Turkish Airlines fleet. 

He was also responsible for International Relations & Alliances, overseeing commercial agreements with airline partners, ensuring partnership & network development with enhanced bilateral relations.

He was appointed as the new Chairman of the Board and the Executive Committee of Turkish Airlines in January 2022. In the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, he oversaw Turkish Airlines’ fast recovery during the summer season and subsequent reach to pre-pandemic levels in passenger figures. 

Besides his posts as Chairman at Turkish Airlines and Service Exporters' Association of Türkiye (HİB), Ahmet Bolat is also a Board Member of Türkiye-U.S. Business Council (TAİK) and Türkiye Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA). He also serves as a Member of the Board of Governors of IATA. 

He is native in Turkish, Bolat is fluent in English and Arabic.

Interviews

 * 1)  IATA Interview:
 * 2)  Airways Mag Interview:
 * 3)  CNN Interview: