#4 Neslihan K. Hidirligil, 37 ? Founder & CEO, N&F Global Corp.
Perhaps few Americans know that Santa Claus was from Demre, a town and its surrounding district in the Antalya Province on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. But it’s a well-know story that in major American cities, such as New York, Washington, DC, and Boston, the largest all year long Christmas gift stores are owned by a Turkish entrepreneur. How crazy is that business idea, of selling Christmas gifts all year long at huge retail locations? It’s a seasonal occasion and nobody had ever dreamt about it except one young entrepreneur, Neslihan Kocabaş Hıdırlıgil.
TURKOFAMERICA has published the most influential Turks under 40 in the USA in their latest special edition. The magazine, which was established in 2002 by two young Turkish entrepreneurs, ranked the most influential Turks from every area, ranging from Silicon Valley to the New York financial world, sport, and the arts and film industry, as the top '40 under 40'. Hafize Gaye Erkan, Senior Vice President, Chief Investment Officer and Co-chief Risk Officer of the First Republic Bank, was ranked in first place. She joined the bank in 2014 and has overseen its banking activities in the Boston and Portland regions. 
Serdar Bulut has over 15 years of experience in executive and mid-level management, software architecture, system and network design, and team leadership. Serdar took several products from their idea stage on a whiteboard to a living and breathing state, and then built a team and maintained/supported these products. In addition, he has prepared and made presentations to investors. He is an avid follower of the Lean Startup movement. 
Coşku Turhan is a filmmaker/visual effects supervisor with over twelve years of experience in the Hollywood film industry. Born in Ankara, Turkey, his talent for visual arts could be traced back to the drawings and animations he did of Disney characters when he was eight years old. Building on his skills, he graduated from an International Baccalaureate program having concentrated on classical painting and music. After his painting mentor Marek Brozozovski convinced him that he would get a rigorous education there, he decided to study graphic design at Bilkent University. 
