Board of Directors

General Manager of Eker Dairy Products, Ahmet Eker has been involved in sailing since 1988 and has competed in yacht races since 2009.

Ahmet Eker, General Manager of Eker Dairy Products, began sailing as an amateur in 1988. He started competing in yacht races in 2009 and has been racing on behalf of TAYK in the Melges 32 class in Italy since 2015.

Licensed sailor Selma Altay Rodopman has held various management roles in sailing and athlete development and previously served as Secretary General of TAYK.

Selma Altay Rodopman has held various positions within the Turkish Sailing Federation and international sailing organizations and has taken responsibility in projects focused on the development of Olympic classes and athlete training. A licensed sailor herself, Rodopman served as Secretary General of TAYK between 2012 and 2014 and as a Board Member of the Turkish National Olympic Committee in 2025–26. Between 2015 and 2021, she served as Head of the Sailing Branch at Fenerbahçe Sports Club, working with 60 licensed athletes, seven of whom were Olympic athletes. She also coordinated the club’s four-year amateur sports branch sponsorship agreement with Doğuş Group, the first of its kind in Türkiye. She served on the Board of Directors of Fenerbahçe Sports Club from 2021 to 2025. She currently serves as Managing Partner at Rodopman A.Ş.

Vedat Tezman has been actively sailing since 1974 and has competed in yacht races around the world.

Vedat Tezman, Vice Chairman of Tezman Holding, was born in Istanbul in 1955 and has been actively sailing since 1974. He graduated from the Galatasaray School of Engineering of the Istanbul State Academy of Engineering and Architecture (İDMMA) in 1980. Having participated in yacht races around the world, Tezman has served as Commodore of the Turkish Offshore Racing Club (TAYK) since 2016. He is also CEO of Tezmarin Turizm ve Ticaret A.Ş., a boat distribution company operating under Tezman Holding A.Ş.

A yacht racer since 1996, Emir İçgören also has experience competing in Match Race and One Design events.

Emir İçgören has been a yacht racer since 1996 and began competing in Match Race and One Design events in 2008. In November 2016, he placed third in the J/70 class Monaco Winter Series while competing on behalf of TAYK.

Attorney Merter Özay combines his legal career with active involvement in yacht racing and is the founder of Özay Sailing Team.

Attorney Merter Özay held positions including Chief Legal Counsel and Board Member at CarrefourSA between 2004 and 2013. In 2014, he founded Özay Law Firm, which today consists of approximately 70 people. Following his education at Saint-Joseph and Marmara University Faculty of Law, he continued his master's and doctoral studies in private law at Galatasaray University. He remains actively involved in the management of various non-governmental organizations and industry associations. As he spends a significant part of his time at sea and aboard sailing yachts, he founded Özay Sailing Team in 2018. The team consists entirely of lawyers from Özay Law Firm, the majority of whom are women. With 30 team members racing on a rotational basis, the team has won numerous trophies in the IRC 3 class.

A member of the Executive Committee of Çukurova Holding, Mehmet Ali Karamehmet has been involved in recreational boating for many years and has competed in yacht races since 2007.

Mehmet Ali Karamehmet, a member of the Executive Committee of Çukurova Holding, was born in Mersin in 1973. He has been involved in recreational boating for many years and has competed in yacht races since 2007.

Active in sailing since 1998, Deniz Yılmaz provides sailing and seamanship training at Alfasail Sailing School and serves as captain of its sailing teams.

Born in Istanbul in 1979, Deniz Yılmaz graduated from Istanbul University in Geological Engineering. He began actively sailing in 1998. At Alfasail Sailing School, which was founded in 2000 and which he currently owns, he provides sailing and seamanship training while also serving as captain of the school’s sailing teams. Since 2008, he has won a total of 11 Trophy Championships as captain in the IRC 2 and IRC 3 classes.

A yacht racer since the 1980s, Alican Turalı has served TAYK as a Board Member, Vice Commodore and Commodore.

Alican Turalı was born in Istanbul in 1956. He graduated from Galatasaray High School in 1975 and from the Faculty of Political Sciences at Grenoble University in 1979. He pursued graduate studies in Economics and Political Science at Ankara University Faculty of Political Sciences and Paris Nanterre University. He worked in the communications and marketing industry for many years and began yacht racing in the 1980s. Since 2008, he has served in the management of the Turkish Offshore Racing Club as a Board Member, Vice Commodore and Commodore. He has also represented Türkiye as a delegate at IRC Congresses since 2008. He serves as a guest lecturer at Galatasaray University Faculty of Communication.

Kemal Darcan is the founder, General Manager and Chairman of Akpa Kimya Ambalaj San. ve Tic. A.Ş. and the owner of the Akpa Chemicals racing yacht.

Kemal Darcan founded Akpa Kimya Ambalaj San. ve Tic. A.Ş. in 1997 and has served as the company’s General Manager and Chairman of the Board since its establishment. He is a Board Member of Muratlı and is also the owner of the Akpa Chemicals yacht.

A mechanical engineer involved in sailing since 1968, Levent Karabeyoğlu is a founding partner of Dökeryat and Doyle Yelken.

Born in 1953, Levent Karabeyoğlu has been involved in sailing since 1968. A mechanical engineer, Karabeyoğlu is a founding partner of Dökeryat and Doyle Yelken.

Mehmet Halit Özdamar has participated in local sailing races in Istanbul and Bodrum for more than 45 years and continues his involvement in boating and sailing.

Born in Istanbul in 1951, Mehmet Halit Özdamar graduated from the Istanbul State Academy of Engineering and Architecture in 1973 as a civil engineer. He is a partner of Çevre İnşaat Turizm San. Tic. Ltd. Şti., founded in 1975. Since its establishment, the company has undertaken various residential and industrial construction projects and continues its construction activities in the Bodrum region. For more than 45 years, Özdamar has participated in local sailing races organized in Istanbul and Bodrum and today continues boating and sailing as a hobby.