Mustafa Koç, the chairman of Türkiye’s largest conglomerate, died of a heart attack on Jan. 21.
Born in 1960, Koç was educated at the Lyceum Alpinum Zuoz in Switzerland and graduated from George Washington University in 1984. As a third-generation member of the Koç family, he was appointed president of Koç Holding in 2003, replacing his retired father, Rahmi Koç. Koç was the head of the High Advisory Council of Türkiye’s top business organization, TÜSİAD, between 2005 and 2010. He was also the honorary president of the High Advisory Board of TÜSİAD and a member of the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK).
Koç Holding has been the only Turkish business group on the Fortune 500 Global List. According to latest data from the Istanbul Chamber of Industry, there are five Koç companies in Türkiye’s largest industry companies. Koç Holding owns Türkiye’s oil refinery, Tüpraş, two major automotive producers in metal, Tofaş and Ford Otosan, home appliance maker Arçelik and LPG for cars and bottled gas retailer Aygaz on the İSO’s latest annual list. The group also owns Yapı Kredi Bank, fuel distribution company Opet and defense maker Otokar, among others.
Koç Holding make around 45 percent of Türkiye’s car production and 43 percent of the country’s total car exports. Its share in the country’s total exports is around 10 percent.
