Teşekkür Ederim (Thank you)

–Authored by Cindie Adams

Special thanks to our Turkish Wisconsin School of Business Community!

We had a lot of support and fun in preparing for our trip to Turkey.  I was amazed by how excited our Wisconsin School of Business community of Turkish students, faculty and alumni were to ensure we had a wonderful experience in their home country.

Real Estate and Urban Land Economics Professor, Dr. Abdullah Yavas, spoke to us about the economic and business climate of Turkey.  Professor Yavas currently serves on the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey.   He also threw in some trivia to challenge knowledge (or lack) of Turkish football and cuisine.

Management Doctoral student, Volkan Özbek attended a few of our planning sessions, providing great advice on places to visit, how to negotiate at the Grand Bazaar, foods to try, to name a few.  Volkan also arranged a Turkish dinner at the Oliva Restaurant on Madison’s west side, where we learned a few Turkish phrases, enjoyed a delicious meal and imbibed in the Turkish custom of “taking tea.”  Volkan also connected me to his sister, Gül Reiche, who was our expert on companies and banks in Istanbul, and arranged our visit to Vakifbank.

Our current Wisconsin MBA student, Canan Özkan, was invaluable as soon as I mentioned that we were going to Turkey.  Canan evaluated our itinerary, arranged several company visits, and was the best “cheerleader” of her country.  She’s probably the only person who loves Istanbul more than me.

Finally, I want to give a special thank you to our Wisconsin MBA alumni, Gülru Keten Gürken (Class of 2004) and Dilek Gürel (Class of 2006).  As students in the Nicholas Center, you convinced me that Turkey is the place to visit.  It was wonderful seeing both of you in Istanbul.  We were fortunate to visit Best Buy in Istanbul, where Gülru was instrumental in Best Buy’s expansion into Turkey and now serves as the Director of Finance.

My experience leading the MBA Global Trip to Turkey offers a great example of the wide reach of the Wisconsin School of Business Community.  From the moment that Turkey was selected as one of the winter break destinations, the wheels were in motion to create an outstanding learning experience for our MBA students.  Faculty, current students, and alumni were integral to the success of the trip.  A special thanks to all of you!