What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?

We are currently involved in an M&A transaction in which Arçelik’s wholly owned subsidiary Beko and Whirlpool Corporation’s wholly owned subsidiary Whirlpool EMEA Holdings (Whirlpool) have signed a Contribution Agreement for the creation of a standalone business in the European home appliances sector. With this Contribution Agreement, Beko and Whirlpool will transfer their European subsidiaries to a newly incorporated joint venture entity. This project includes Whirlpool’s and Arçelik’s European subsidiaries, including the production facilities. Additionally, a separate Share Purchase Agreement has been signed with Whirlpool for Beko to acquire full ownership of Whirlpool’s Middle East and North Africa entities as well. It has been almost one and a half years since we started this project, and we are looking forward to seeing the successful results of our efforts by the closing of the transaction in April 2024.

What strategic priorities are guiding you and your team in 2024?

Our strategic priority this year is to support the integration of the transaction, which will merge Arçelik’s and Whirlpool’s European business under a joint venture entity. My team and I are focused on supporting our organisation’s growth and success by managing legal risks and integrity across the organisation. This includes ensuring compliance with corporate governance standards, managing commercial law matters, protecting intellectual property, maintaining global compliance, and safeguarding data privacy.

Do you have a cause, business-related or otherwise, that you are passionate about?

As the general counsel and in line with Arçelik’s sustainability strategy, targets, and progress in environmental, social, and governance areas, one of my primary focuses is to optimise our paperless contract management process through digital and e-signature technologies. Additionally, I aim to enhance consistency and compliance across all our subsidiaries worldwide. This platform will significantly improve the efficiency of the contract workflow and eliminate the need for email correspondences and manual document routing, thereby creating energy efficiency. I believe this contract management system will also serve our sustainability policies and contribute to our organisation in many aspects such as energy and time efficiency, ultimately enhancing long-term value for our organisation and stakeholders.