Ali İsmail Sabancı is the Chairman of the Board of ESAS. He served as Chairman of the Board of Pegasus Airlines, one of ESAS’s private equity investments, from January 2005 to March 2023 and has continued to serve as a Board Member since March 2023. He also serves on the Board of Directors of ESAS Gayrimenkul.
As one of the founders of ESAS Sosyal, established to facilitate sustainable social investment, Sabancı focuses on raising awareness of entrepreneurship in Türkiye. From 2009 to 2024, he served as Chairman of the Young Entrepreneurs Council of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB), leading numerous successful initiatives, including the Angel Investment legislation, the Global Entrepreneurship Congress, the G3 / Future Power Entrepreneurs Forum, Global Entrepreneurship Week, and TİM Innovation Week – Born Global. He is also an angel investor in more than 25 start-up companies.
Ali Sabancı is a founding board member of GEN Türkiye (Global Entrepreneurship Network), a member of the Turkish Family Business Association (TAİDER), and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Entrepreneurship Foundation. In 2018, he was awarded the Légion d’Honneur by the French Government for his contributions to strengthening economic relations between Türkiye and France.
Ali Sabancı holds an M.B.A. in International Finance from Columbia Business School and a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Economics from Tufts University.
