Serhan H. Süzer
Serhan H. Süzer (b. 1977, Istanbul), full name Serhan Hasan Süzer, is an entrepreneur of innovative technologies and models. A civil society organization leader. An athlete. A global citizen who has dedicated his life to sustainability, with a mission to leave a more livable world for all living beings and a philosophy of Pura Vida.
He shares his ideas, knowledge, experience, and expertise on his blog, www.serhansuzer.com, where he addresses a wide range of topics. In addition to his significant work in the fields of sustainability and civil society, he also shares his visionary ideas in these areas on many different platforms. His 2013 article in Turkish Policy Quarterly, “Why Should Türkiye Aim for 100% Renewable Energy?”, is an example of this. Serhan H. Süzer graduated from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, in 1999 with a degree in finance and accounting. After university, he began his career at the US headquarters of Italian-based Generali Insurance. He returned to his country in year 2000 and, after completing his mandatory military service, continued his career in the family business.
In 2001, during one of the biggest economic crises in the history of the Republic of Türkiye, he took the position to lead the team that opened the Ritz-Carlton Istanbul Hotel as his first job at Süzer Holding. On 6 October 2001, 25 days after the 11 September attacks, the Ritz-Carlton Istanbul opened and then he served as the hotel’s investment/asset manager for five years. Despite the blow to the tourism sector following the 2003 Istanbul attacks, he completed the Ritz-Carlton’s financial restructuring and ensured the hotel’s economic sustainability. During this period, he also held various positions at Süzer Holding, including foreign relations coordinator and general manager, as well as at the Ritz-Carlton Istanbul Hotel.
Serhan H. Süzer facilitated the realization of the Coca-Cola factory in Iraq, which began planning in 2006, construction in 2007, and opening in 2008. As the project manager for Süzer Holding, the investor, he facilitated the project. This was the first investment made in Iraq after the war and marked the entry of Coca-Cola, which had been inactive in Iraq for over 70 years, into the Iraqi market.
In 2008, Serhan H. Süzer was appointed Honorary Consul in Istanbul by Nobel Peace Prize-winning President Oscar Arias of Costa Rica. Serhan H. Süzer provided consular services to citizens of Costa Rica, which aimed to achieve carbon neutrality by 2021, in over 35 countries across Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and Africa. He left this position in December of 2021 to devote more time to sustainability work.
During his tenure as Vice Chairman and CEO of KFC and Pizza Hut Turkey between 2009 and 2011, the company experienced rapid growth, opening 25 restaurants in Turkey. Serhan H. Süzer’s most recent collaboration with KFC and Pizza Hut Turkey was the opening of the first LEED-certified environmentally friendly restaurant for YUM!, the owner of these brands in Turkey and globally. KFC, located in Istanbul’s Bostancı district (in the Asian side of Istanbul), is the first restaurant to receive the US Green Building Council “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design” (LEED) certification. In November 2011, he decided to step down from these positions to focus his full attention on sustainability projects. Serhan H. Süzer launched his first venture in December 2011 by founding Hittite Solar Energy, a CSP (Concentrating Solar Power Parabolic Trough – Solar Thermal) company, and served as CEO.
In 2012, Süzer took over EkoCC, a company operating in call centers and software development. After reaching a certain size, he merged it with Vodasoft at the end of 2016 and continued his journey with EkoCCS. He also founded the fintech (financial technology) firm Moka Payment Organization Inc. in August 2014, and the technology firm Bonbon Technology Inc. in July 2016.
Serhan H. Süzer also applied his entrepreneurship skills for civil society. The Food Banking Association (in Turkish, Gıda Bankacılığı Derneği – GBD), which he founded in 2010 as founding president in collaboration with eight food companies. With his leadership, the NGO, GBD was restructured in 2014 and continued as the Basic Needs Association (Temel İhtiyaç Derneği – TIDER). TIDER, a social enterprise that has gained economic enterprise status through a structural and model change, meets the basic needs of millions of people in need, such as food, cleaning products, and clothing. It also helps them become self-sufficient through vocational training, micro-entrepreneurship, and referrals to other NGOs. The model is also based on the principle of preventing waste.
Among its civil society initiatives is a rural development project, carried out in collaboration with TİDER following the 2014 coal disaster in Soma. This project involved training 34 women in Yırca Village in Soma in soap production and establishing a sales and operations system to help women become self-sufficient.
Furthermore, TIDER organized the 2018 Bozcaada Run, the 2019 Cunda Triathlon, and Festtogether, organized under the motto “Have fun, leave no trace” presenting the model of recycling or reusing organic and inorganic waste. TIDER has also played an active role in numerous disasters since 2014. Following the Elazığ Earthquake in early 2020, NGO thought leaders, including Serhan H. Süzer, launched an initiative to establish a platform for coordinated NGO work in disaster response. The Disaster Platform, founded by 22 NGOs, held its first general assembly on October 1, 2020, at which Serhan H. Süzer was elected as the platform’s first spokesperson.
Currently, Serhan H. Süzer continues his work on self-sufficient building technologies and models. This new concept, which includes criterias such as buildings being made from recyclable materials, being disaster-resistant, and using local materials in construction that are compatible with local architecture and geography, will enable buildings to produce their own energy, water, and food. With these initiatives, led by new technologies and models that incorporate techniques that will be used in future construction on other planets, the platform plans to continue to increase its contributions to sustainability in the near future.
Education
McGill University
1995-1999
Graduated from the Faculty of Commerce with a major in Finance and a minor in Accounting
Boğaziçi University
2024-2025 (1 semester remaining for graduation)
Master’s Program in Engineering and Technology Management, Department of Industrial Engineering