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Güzel with Senator Elizabeth Ann Warren, a member of the Democratic Party, since 2013 she has served as the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts.

A Turkish-American at the Camp of Democratic Party Senators’ Elections Committee

The annual meeting of the Elections Committee of Democratic Party, which brings together the key figures of the party every year for discussion of their party’s future strategies, was once again held at the Martha’s Vineyard Island in Massachusetts. The camp that includes activities such as boat trips, dinners, and breakfasts, is known as a meeting where important decisions are made in terms of providing support for those prospective senators.The island that has been visited by 9 former US presidents, including Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, has a special importance. It is also one of the places definitely stopped by presidential candidates for the purpose of collecting donations during presidential election campaigns.

January 12, 2018
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Yalçın Ayaslı at his office in Concord, MA.

The Businessman Who Spent 60 Million Dollars for the Case of Turkey

It was the year 1968 when Dr. Yalçın Ayaslı came to Boston to get his Ph.D. at the globally famous Massachusetts Institute of Technology-MIT, after having graduated from the Middle East Technical University-METU in Ankara. When he told the taxi driver that he was a Turk, he encountered, for the first time, claims about the Armenian genocide allegedly carried out by the Ottoman Empire back in 1915. Ayaslı took it upon himself to fight these claims first as a student and later as a professional. He used to work closely with then Honorary Consul General of Turkey, Orhan Gündüz. When Orhan Gündüz was murdered by Armenian terrorists in Somerville, Massachusetts on May 4, 1982, Ayaslı honoured his legacy by naming his son after him. Turk of America magazine selected Dr.Yalcin Ayaslı among one of the 50 Most Influential Turkish-Americans and summarized the reason for the award as defining him as ‘one of the people who changed the unfortunate fate of Turks in America in terms of political and cultural aspects’.

January 12, 2018
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Ümran Beba, senior vice president and CHRO, PepsiCo, for Global Human Capital Management, Services and Operations

PepsiCo Leading the way in Digital Transformation in HR

By Cemil Özyurt - Ümran Beba is the senior vice president and CHRO, PepsiCo, for Global Human Capital Management, Services and Operations. Based in Purchase, NY, she oversees Human Capital Management Strategy and Workforce Analytics, Enterprise Organization Development, Change Management, Organization Design, the Labor Center of Expertise, HR Operations, Core Services and Human Capital Management Communications. Prior to this role, she was based in Dubai serving as the SVP and CHRO for PepsiCo Asia, Middle East and North Africa, which spans some 40 countries and 50 nationalities in its workforce. Beba has held a wide range of roles since joining the company in 1994. From 2013 to 2015, she was the president of PepsiCo’s Asia-Pacific region, which spans some 25 markets. “Digital transformation is changing the labor market, and altering how companies think about everything from talent acquisition to learning, performance management and rewards,” says Ms. Beba, who is also a member of the World Economic Forum Global Future Council on the Future of Education, Gender and Work. “Today, business leaders must have critical data and analytics at their fingertips to allow them to make more informed decisions about everything including talent, workforce planning and staffing.” A Turkish executive with one the highest positions at PepsiCo answers questions of TURKOFAMERICA.

January 12, 2018
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He Purchases Firms for Pepsi Co.

Tarkan V. Gürkan graduated from Bosporus University’s Mechanical Engineering Department in 1994. With the advice of one of his professors in college, he decided to study for his master’s degree in America. He got accepted to Dartmouth College and Yale University; and, he decided to attend Dartmouth. While he was studying, he worked at the school cafetaria and the security office for the schools computer rooms.

January 12, 2018
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Human Resources Department of the Best Hotel of New York is Run by a Turk

Two years in a row, the Surrey Hotel has been selected as the best hotel of New York in a readers’ survey conducted by Conde Nast Traveler magazine. The survey was taken by over 300K readers in 606 cities and the selection was done among 7394 hotels. And, the human resources director of this first place winner luxurious hotel in New York that is a part of the Denihan Hospitality Group is a Turkish professional.

January 12, 2018
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Soliya Brings the World Together in a Class

Students from Jerusalem, Beirut, Cairo, and Morocco meet with students from Texas, Iowa, Pittsburg, and Kentucky at an online class and discuss issues of the Middle East, global warming, and the Israel-Palestine conflict. Students from Finland, Denmark, and France find a chance to have an online face to face conversation on US-EU relations with their American peers. The first of the online education systems was the platform called Computer Assisted Learning Center, which was created in 1994.

January 12, 2018
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Peyman Umay won Fashion Group International Rising Star Award and the world of fashion gathered at Cipriani 42nd Street for the Fashion Group International’s Rising Star awards.

Peyman Umay, Rising Star of Fashion

Peyman Umay moved to the U.S. in 2007, after a promising liaison with 2 fashion houses in Europe. In 2011, He started his own line of menswear in New York City, offering luxury men’s made-to-measure clothing, by appointment only. Through his passion and hard-work, Peyman created a loyal clientele by combining his fashion background with unique services that no other brand does. Within 2 years, Peyman Umay designs were already being celebrated by the very affluent people of the country from Hollywood to Sports. Realizing the need and not being able to resist the consistent demand, Umay launched women’s made-to-measure line in 2013 and finally men’s ready-to-wear collection in December 2015, opening the first Peyman Umay retail store in Aspen, Colorado. The New York based celebrity designer shares his secrets in his recently penned book “Dressing Well” that will be published soon.

January 12, 2018
Published in Life & Style
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Lessons Learned from Muhtar Kent

By Altan Ergün * - Muhtar Kent was born in New York. His father was the Turkish Consul General at the time. After finishing high school in Turkey in 1971, he went to University of Hull where studied economics and then MBA at Cass Business School in London. Het joined the Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta in 1978 and rose through the company taking different leadership positions in US, Europe and Asia. After a stint with Turkey’s Efes Beverage Group in 1999, he returned to Coca-Cola in 2005, and become the Chief Executive Officer in 2008 and then Chairman in 2009. He is married with two kids and lives in Atlanta.

January 12, 2018
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Meet the Turkish Developer Behind Ghost Buildings

Mükemmel (Mike) Sarımsakçı founded Alterra in 2009 with one mission in mind: “to develop inspired spaces for people to live, work, and play,” the company says. Sarımsakçı is a more than 20-year real estate, development and construction industry veteran with experience in North America as well as internationally. Before forming the company, Sarimsakci was managing director of Polidev International LLC, where he was responsible for real estate development projects in the Americas. His international experience includes working as vice president in Saudi Arabia for AECOM and serving as a board member with Ibra Holding in Azarbaijan. Sarimsakci’s first job in the construction industry was with Bechtel in San Francisco, where he was a construction manager and civil engineer for massive park projects in Dubai and Euro Disney. He sits at two NGO boards: American Turkish Society and East West Institute. TURKOFAMERICA talked to Mike Sarımsakçı about his past and current projects.

January 12, 2018
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Meg Davis on stage singing a Turkish song.

A Virginian in Love with Turkish Folk Music: Meg Davis

What would you ask an American who was born in West Virginia and studied in college in Holland’s Rotterdam; and, who is in love with Turkish folk music? My question to her was: ‘What’s wrong with you?’ And, she replied, laughing, that I was not the first person asking her that question. Meg Davis has completed her undergraduate studies at Codarts University of Arts in Holland and she is now getting prepared to have her master’s degree on Turkish pop music. However, although she started his graduate studies on pop music, she has also changed her major to Turkish Folk Music and studied it at undergraduate level.

January 12, 2018
Published in Culture & Art
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Sultanzade Touran İbrahim Rateb, grandson of Şehzade Abdurrahim Hayri (1894-1952), one of sons of Sultan Abdulhamid II.

Mexican Luxury Hotel Manager Who Is A Grandson of Sultan Addulhamid II

By Cemil Özyurt- Sultanzade Touran İbrahim Rateb is son of Mihrişah Selçuk Sultan who is granddaughter of Sultan Abdulhamid II. He was born in Egypt in 1950, where a number of the Ottoman families were welcomed by the Egyptian royal family. The first time he remembers Turkey was in 1978 when he traveled with his wife and daughter. After having completed hotel school in Switzerland, Sultanzade Rateb had the opportunity to work in South America, Europe and the US. He is in Mexico for the third time, which he finds to be an endearing country. TURKOFAMERICA talked to Sultanzade Touran İbrahim Rateb.

January 12, 2018
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How to Make Turkish-American Relations Great Again?

By Cemil Özyurt - Turkish-American relations are getting worse and it is very difficult to predict how they will be shaped in the near future. We will be facing a new crisis every single day and the tension has been escalating even more when it is hoped to be decreased. The U.S. and Turkey have been through the most depressing period of time since 1950, despite the fact that Turkey was hoping that President Trump would made the relations better after the elections in November 2016. Unfortunately, the situation at the very end is a complete disappointment. The two NATO allies are at odds over a number of issues such as:

January 12, 2018
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How to Get More Followers, Fans, and Likes to Increase Your Social Reach?

Eda Kazancıoğlu studied high school in İstanbul and she graduated with a major of Marketing & Marketing Communications and a minor of Photography. She works for Qnary, the social media management platform for executives. TURKOFAMERICA talked to Kazancıoğlu about social media.

January 12, 2018
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You should especially visit the two of these buildings. The first is the mansion with 79 rooms located at the Staatsburgh State Historic Site. Built in Beaux-Arts style, the mansion was the place where Ruth Livingston and Ogden Mills used to live in.

Why Do Most People Think NYC Is Only Manhattan?

By Cemil Özyurt - Going to a musical in New York’s Broadway, walking in Central Park, shopping at SoHo, and being mesmerized by the lights of Times Square and looking around for minutes on shop windows of 5th Avenue are ordinary activities done by each tourist that comes to New York City. But if you come to NYC and are willing to take the two hours long drive to the north, to the ‘upstate’ region, you will have a chance to get out of the chaos of the millions and meet a brand new New York that has a magnificant history and nature.

January 12, 2018
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