About

During her 17-year tenure as senior lawyer and head of legal department for Cargill, Tuba Çetin Alpa has played a central role in the company’s regional growth. Cargill is an American global corporation that provides food, agriculture, financial and industrial services. Çetin Alpa joined Cargill Turkey in 1998, taking up the challenge of establishing an in-house legal department from scratch. The changes she spearheaded have resulted in significant reduction of bureaucracy over legal documentation. She has invested in the legal training of the non-legal staff, which has increased the understanding of the legal function within the company. Çetin Alpa impressed the business with her ability to navigate complex deals, when she successfully led two acquisitions and two joint ventures within a very limited period of time. She concedes that the regulatory changes on the food sector have been a big challenge for their business: ‘in-depth knowledge of the technical details concerning the regulation, and understanding of the underlying causes are the key to overcome those challenges’.