EXECUTIVE BOARD

Taha Meli Arvas was born and raised in Syracuse, New York in November of 1980. He completed a double major at Syracuse University, in bioengineering and finance in 2003. He continued his master’s studies at the City University of New York Graduate Center majoring in political science. He went on to obtain an MBA from Özyeğin University in 2013 and later a master’s in financial engineering in 2014. He is currently conducting a PhD in Financial Engineering at Boğaziçi University. Mr Arvas started his professional career starting a management consulting company providing advisory services to clients in business and investment strategies. He later was a financial columnist for various leading national and international media outlets and appeared on-air as a commentator on his areas of expertise. He was also a part of the Istanbul Financial Risk Management Laboratory for many years evaluating risks faced by firms and nations. Appointed as the Vice-Chairman of the Capital Markets of Boards of Türkiye in 2020, he aimed to expand access to capital markets for firms, to increase financial literacy among retail investors, and to combat manipulation in capital markets. Arvas also served as an adjunct professor of finance at Özyeğin University in 2020 and Boğaziçi University between 2021 and 2024. He joined the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources in July of 2023 acting as a senior policy advisor to Minister Alparslan Bayraktar and as of February 9th of 2024, he was appointed as the General Manager of EPİAŞ.

Graduated from Electronic and Communication Engineering Department of Yıldız Technical University in 2006, Meriç Emre Aydın began his professional career at TEİAŞ (Turkish Electricity Transmission Corporation) as an engineer and worked there between 2009-2016. Upon the establishment of EXIST, he served as Senior Settlement Specialist between 2016-2017 at EXIST. In 2017, he became the Manager of Electricity Market Registration and Settlement. In this role, he has achieved a great deal of experience in electricity market registration and settlement, collateral management, eligible consumer transactions, RESS (Renewable Energy Support Scheme) settlement, unlicensed electricity generation offsetting transactions. Since 21 September 2023, he is appointed as the Director of Market Operations at EXIST. Married with two children, Aydın is fluent in English.

Graduated in 1997 from the Political Science Faculty of Istanbul University, Derya Erbay has worked in the field of tax, financial advisory and audit until 2004. She then completed her MSc in Law and Accounting at the London School of Economics & Political Science in 2006; and has pursued a diploma program, School of Traditional Arts at the Prince Foundation School of Arts in the UK. After she returned to Türkiye in 2009, she has followed a career in the banking sector in the field of regulation and compliance. She then joined EXIST in 2017 and has consecutively worked as Supervisor and the Manager of Regulation and Compliance Department. In the meantime, she has actively contributed to the design of new energy markets on EXIST. She has served as the Head of Working Group Environmental Markets of Europex, European Association of Energy Exchanges for 2018-2020 mandate and was elected as the Board Member of APEx, Association of Power Exchanges in 2023. As of 23 November 2023, Derya was appointed as the Director of Strategy Development. She is married with two children.

Born in 1976 in Istanbul, Mehmet Uçansoy began his career  as a Corporate Resource Planning Systems Project Consultant at Netsis A.Ş. in 2000. He joined Nuh Panel Yapı Elemanları A.Ş. in 2002 and worked as a Project Manager and Financial Analyst and in 2005 he served as the Information Systems Manager responsible for companies at Nuh Grup A.Ş. Since 2008, worked as Çalık Holding Financial Practices Consultant. During this period, he completed many strategic projects in 7 main sectors in group companies, and took on the roles of project manager and business solutions manager. Since 2018, he started to work as an Advisor to the CEO in the Energy Exchange Istanbul (EXIST). Mehmet Uçansoy, who has experience in corporate resource planning applications, financial systems adaptation, design, financial management, budget management, telco, energy utilities, SAP applications, project management, IT operations management, resource planning in business life and Uçansoy is also a Certified Public Accountant (SMMM). He graduated from Istanbul University Department of Business Administration (English) and postgraduated from Bahçeşehir University (MBA) with his thesis on "The effects of digital transformation in institutions on strategic decision-making" with full points and first in the department. Completing Istanbul Technical University, Software Programming, Middle East Technical University, Information Technologies Program, Bahçeşehir University Project Management Professional programs, Uçansoy continues his doctorate from  Istanbul Commerce University with a full scholarship. Uçansoy, appointed to Energy Exchange Istanbul (EXIST) as a Information Technologies Director in 1 November 2020. Uçansoy speaking English at advanced level, he is married with one children.

Born in 1975 in Kocaeli-Gölcük, Mehmet Haluk Yılmaz graduated from Boğaziçi University, Department of Management in 1997. Mr. Yılmaz began his career as an  Asistant Auditor  at Internal Audit Board of Kuveyt Türk. He joined Çalık Holding in 2003 and worked as a Strategic Planning Manager, Sales and Marketing Group Manager and Brand Director respectively. He started to work as a consultant at Türk Telekom in 2011 and later served as a Strategy Risk Manager. Mehmet Haluk Yılmaz, who has experience in business, especially in auditing, risk management, strategic management, capital markets, branding , sales and marketing, has been appointed as the Director of Energy Exchange Istanbul (EXIST) on 15 October 2018. Speaking English at advanced level, he is married with two children.

Bilal TOPÇU was born in 1974 in Yahyalı, a district of Kayseri. He completed his primary, middle, and high school education in Yahyalı. In 1992, he was admitted to the Economics Department of Ankara University's Faculty of Political Sciences and he graduated in 1997. In 2005, he completed his master's degree in the Department of Capital Markets and Stock Exchange at Marmara University's Institute of Banking and Insurance, and in 2023, he earned his PhD in Economics at Istanbul University. He started his career as an Assistant Specialist at the Export Promotion Directorate of General Directorate of Customs in 1998 by passing the professional personnel recruitment exam held by the Undersecretariat of Customs. In 1999, he passed the professional personnel recruitment exam held by the İstanbul Stock Exchange and started working as an Assistant Auditor at the Board of Auditors In 2002, he passed the in-service evaluation exam and earned the title of Auditor. In 2006, he obtained the Certified Public Accountant certificate. In 2007, he earned the title of Chief Auditor at the Istanbul Stock Exchange. Between 2010 and 2012, he worked as an auditor and manager in a construction company. From 2013 to 2015, he held managerial positions in companies operating in the press and media sector. In May 2015, he was appointed as the Accounting and Finance Manager at Energy Exchange İstanbul (EXİST), Turkey's energy exchange. He played an active role in the design and establishment of EXIST’s accounting and finance system. In 2017, he temporarily served as the Support Services Manager for 9 months in addition to his main role as Financial Affairs Manager. He was elected as a board member at the general assembly of İstanbul Stock Exchange in 2016 and held this position for 15 months. By the decision of the Board of Directors of İstanbul Stock Exchange, he also served as the Chairman of the Corporate Communication Committee and a member of the Audit Committee. Since April 2021, he has been serving as the Director of Internal Control and Risk Management at EPİAŞ, and since July 2024, he has been acting as the (Chief) Legal Counsel as well. Bilal TOPÇU is married and has three children.

Derya Taş Ereke graduated from Istanbul University, Department of Economics in 2003, ranking second in the faculty, and received her Master’s degree in Economic Theory from Istanbul University in 2006. In 2006, she was awarded the Overseas Research Students Award Scheme (ORSAS) scholarship for her Ph.D studies at the University of Southampton in England. She received her Ph.D in Macroeconomics at the University of Southampton in 2011 with a paper entitled “Essays on Household Portfolio Choice ”. During her doctoral studies, she also worked as a research and teaching assistant at the same institution. Upon returning to Turkey in 2012, Derya embarked on her professional journey at Bosphorus Gaz Corporation A.Ş., a subsidiary of Gazprom. Starting as a Financial Analyst, she quickly rose to head the Risk and Analysis department. During this time, she also maintained her connections with academia, teaching “Behavioral Finance” at Istanbul Bilgi University and “Real Estate Finance” at Bahçeşehir University, sharing her knowledge and insights with the next generation of finance professionals. In 2015, Ereke joined EPİAŞ, where her career has continued to flourish. She initially led the Risk Unit, playing a crucial role in establishing the company's risk management system. Her contributions and leadership skills were recognized with a promotion to Risk Manager in 2020. Throughout her tenure at EPİAŞ, Ereke has been instrumental in driving key initiatives, including business continuity and disaster recovery efforts, interacting with all departments. She has also made significant contributions to the Emergency Crisis Management system for the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, demonstrating her ability to impact the broader energy sector. As of 3 July 2024, Derya Taş Ereke was appointed as the Director of Finance and Administrative Affairs. She is married with two children.