Guler Köknar is a graduate of the German High School in Istanbul (1985) and the Istanbul University School of Law (1989). She entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey as a career diplomat in 1989 and worked in various capacities until 1994, including as Vice Consul at the Turkish Consulate General in Houston. Leaving the Foreign Service, from 1994 to 2002, Köknar worked as Executive Director of the Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA) in Washington, DC. In 2004, Köknar became Executive Director of the Turkish Cultural Foundation (TCF). She also works as Vice President of the Turkish Coalition of America, an organization she helped to establish in 2007. Köknar is married and has a daughter.

The Coca-Cola Co. Chairman and CEO Muhtar Kent got a nearly 5 percent boost to his total compensation in 2012, the same year the beverage giant’s profit rose 5 percent. According to Coca-Cola’s proxy filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Kent’s total comp hit $30.5 million, including a $1.55 million salary (up 15 percent), $6.2 million in stock awards (up 11 percent), $6.9 million in option awards (down 7 percent), $6 million in non-equity incentive plan compensation (flat) and $8.9 million in change in pension value/non-qualified deferred compensation earnings (up 11 percent).

Turkish businessman and former doctor Şükrü Bozluçay has been named as the entrepreneur of the year for his contributions to nuclear medicine. Bozlu Holding Chairman Şükrü Bozluolçay, a lifelong contributor to nuclear medicine and cancer treatment in Turkey, was presented with the entrepreneur of the year award yesterday at a ceremony in Istanbul.

LJ Tarman, vice president of marketing and public relations of the $1.2 billion NuVision Federal Credit Union, was recently recognized by Congress for her leadership and community relations outreach, and the $1.2 billion Huntington Beach, Calif., credit union itself was feted for its charitable work in communities it serves across Southern California and Arizona.