Networking – TBCCI – Turkish British Chamber of Commerce and Industry

On 7 March 2018, TBCCI organised a Networking Evening at APCO Worldwide premises in Covent Garden, London.

A Patron Member of the Chamber and the host of the evening, APCO Worldwide is an independent global public affairs and strategic communications consultancy.

The event started with opening keynotes. TBCCI Chairman Emma Edhem, CC welcomed TBCCI members and guests and briefly talked about the current developments in Turkish-British economic and political affairs. Ms. Edhem also gave an update on TBCCI projects and initiatives and announced the forthcoming TBCCI events. She then invited Mr. Cem G. Isik, Counsellor and the Deputy Head of Mission at the Turkish Embassy in London to the stage.

Isik talked about the economic and trade relations between the two countries, mentioning that the UK is the 4th biggest FDI country in Turkey and the relations will remain to be strong during and after the Brexit with the UK-Turkey Trade Working Group already established and working towards this goal. Isik also commented on the opportunities Turkey offers for foreign investors in terms of tax exemptions and policies to avoid double taxation.

Next, TBCCI Board Director and the Director of APCO Worldwide Istanbul, Deniz Gungen. gave an in overview of APCO Worldwide and informed about the current developments in Turkey and the Region.

After the opening speeches, TBCCI Chairman, Edhem invited Martin Bennett, the Chief Executive – Turkey of BAE Systems and Celal Baykal, General Manager of the Turkish Airlines London to the stage as the new appointed Directors of the TBCCI Board for their introductions.

Finally, the New Members of the TBCCI, Turkish Airlines, NARS UK Consulting Limited and SRM Business Consulting Limited were introduced to the audience. Evening concluded with a productive networking session.

TBCCI discusses new technologies in business and industry at the Networking Evening with RationalFX

On Wednesday, 05 July 2017, TBCCI held a Networking Evening at the RationalFX Premises, in Canary Wharf, London. First in the series, this new format of themed networking evenings focused on “Technology in Business and Industry” and brought tech savvy TBCCI members and non-members together around a lively panel discussion. Commercial Counsellor at the Turkish Embassy, Aytug Goksu, Economic Counsellor at the Turkish Embassy and the Representative of the Central Bank of Turkey, Cigdem Kogar; TBCCI Directors, Aynur Taskan, David Walker, Enver Kannur and Kifaye Kaya and many other TBCCI members were among the attendees.

TBCCI Chairman, Emma Edhem, CC, welcomed the guests and moderated the panel discussion. The panellists included TBCCI Director and the CEO of Turkey and Central Asia of Rolls Royce Patrick Regis, EY Smart Automation Solution Lead Danny Rohde and the host for the night RationalFX’ Co-Founder Paresh Davdra discussing the technological changes in the Engineering, Services and Finance Industries.

Disruptive Technologies

RationalFX Co-Founder, Paresh Davdra, welcomed TBCCI, its members and guests as the host of the evening and stated how pleased he was to take part in the networking evening. Davdra shared the exciting foundation story of RationalFX and their use of digital and mobile technologies in the exchange services they offer to their customers with the audience.

Patrick Regis, the CEO of Turkey and Central Asia at Rolls Royce, a worlds-renowned engineering company, started off the panel discussion with a bold statement:

“At Rolls Royce, we need to be agile. We have to think in terms of technology and not engineering if we want to keep up with our major competitors such as GE and Siemens.”

Patrick then explained how their new focus in technology has led them into extensive research and digital transformation across their key business interests in Turkey and all around the world, namely, aerospace, defence, marine, civil nuclear and power generation. Regis also talked about their new research on, hybrid electric engines for aircrafts, autonomous ships, small modular nuclear reactors and deep water tidal stream turbines.

Patrick stated that Rolls Royce’s strategy in Turkey is “Knowhow Transfer” and they are utilizing this strategy by establishing partnerships and working in cooperation with major Turkish organizations such as TUBITAK, Turkish Airlines and the respective ministries.

Danny Rohde, EY Smart Automation Solution Lead pointed out the technological gap between companies’ front and back offices. Rohde underlined the importance of structuring companies’ back offices with agile technologies to be able to keep up with the front offices. Danny also used the analogy of industrial revolution and the changes to the blue collar work force to stress the impact the automation solutions and how they will impact the white collar work force.

The panel discussion was followed by an interactive question and answer session, which also continued during the networking part of the evening.

Before the evening came to an end, the new nembers of the TBCCI, Ardic UK Limited, Atlas Global, Can Study Abroad and CoRelate Marketing Solutions, were introduced to the audience.