Board Member
Derya Özet Yalgı is a sustainability executive with more than 18 years of experience leading business transformation, climate transition, and sustainable finance agendas across energy, industrials, cement, iron and steel, telecommunications, retail and investment banking, and other financial services.
She currently serves as Sustainability Director at Sabancı Holding, where she leads the Group's sustainability strategy. Prior to her current role, she served as head of sustainable finance at one of Turkey's largest private banks, where she led the development of pioneering sustainable finance initiatives. Earlier, she led the regional operations of a British sustainability consultancy, a JPMorgan subsidiary, advising corporations on sustainability strategy and reporting. She also advised senior government officials on climate and sustainable development policy and contributed to Turkey's position in international climate negotiations during the 2009 IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings. She chaired the Sustainable Finance Working Group of Turkey's premier business association, TÜSİAD, for three consecutive years and led the development of Turkey's first industry-wide sustainable finance commitment, endorsed by institutions representing nearly half of the country's banking assets. An active contributor to the evolution of sustainable finance globally, she also served on the Steering Committee of the World Bank and IMF-backed Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition and was among the experts who helped shape the UNEP FI Principles for Responsible Banking, alongside various international advisory and governance roles, including past board-level engagements with institutions such as UNICEF. She has delivered executive trainings and guest lectures through programs affiliated with Yale University, Boğaziçi University, Sabancı University, and other leading institutions.
Derya holds a BSc in Environmental Engineering from Istanbul Technical University and an MBA in International Business from Marmara University. She attended executive programs at Stanford Graduate School of Business on AI transformation.