#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.
20 September 2016 Drawing particular attention to the nearly six year crisis in Syria where hundreds of thousands have been killed and millions displaced, the President of Turkey called for urgent action to stop the conflict and persecution in the country. "When will the United Nations and the Security Council stop tolerating the [Syrian] regime's policy of 'either surrender or die,' which condemn the civilians to hunger" President Recep Tayyip Erdogan asked world leaders in his address at the UN General Assembly. "Syrian people are being exhausted in the grip of proxy wars which have been shaped by a cruel administration, merciless terrorist organizations, global and regional competition," he added. 
A Turkish businessman who was living in New York has died after he was attacked with a baseball bat during a brawl that erupted over his decision to relieve himself on private property. Kayhan Som, 56, told his driver to pull over due to his need to use the bathroom while he was heading from Manhattan to Whitestone neighborhood last week. 
Already strained Turkish-U.S. relations have been further soured after Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) member Ahmet Sait Yayla was invited to speak to a congressional panel Wednesday that focused on the developments in Turkey and the July 15 Gülenist coup attempt. Yayla is a former police chief who was suspended from duty due to his alleged links to the terrorist group. Despite that, he was able to testify before the U.S. Congress on a hotbed topic: the July 15 coup attempt. Having understood that he cannot stay in Turkey as a terrorist group member, Yayla, who was chairman of the sociology department at Harran University, and a former Gülenist police chief, fled to the U.S. last November after it became public that he had links to FETÖ leader Fethullah Gülen. 
Since the launch of TCA's Syrian Refugee Campaign in June 2016, TCA has distributed humanitarian grants to several organizations working directly on the ground with Syrian refugees in Turkey. These organizations include Refugee Volunteers of Izmir (ReVi), Butun Cocuklar Bizim (All Children are Ours), and Sureli Destek (Periodic Support).
The Turkish Justice Ministry sent its first formal request for the United States to extradite Pennsylvania-based cleric Fethullah Gulen today, according to a Turkish news agency. Previously, Turkish officials had issued public verbal demands for Gulen's extradition, but this represents the first time that formal paperwork was delivered to send the cleric to Turkey to face charges that he initiated the failed coup attempt that took place in that country in July. 
After drafting two teenage skilled big men in June, the Suns have hired Mehmet Okur as a player development coach to help them reach their potential. Okur, 37, retired four years ago after a 10-season NBA career in which he was a 2007 All-Star and was known as a clutch NBA shooting big man. Okur is best known for his seven-year run in Utah, where his last season (2010-11) was spent with Suns head coach Earl Watson as a Jazz teammate and new Suns assistant coach Tyrone Corbin as the Jazz head coach. 
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. 
