Mehmet Ilker Ayci: The Man Who Takes The Pilot Seat At Air India 

Ayci, who was the chairman of Turkish Airlines from 2015 to 2022, had also served as the personal advisor of Turkish President Racep Tayyip Erdogan

Mehmet Ilker Ayci has been named the new CEO and MD of Air India by Tata Sons. Image: Getty

New Delhi: Tata Sons has announced that former chairman of Turkish Airlines Ilker Ayci will be the new chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director (MD) of Air India.

Ayci will assume his responsibilities at Air India on or before April 1, 2022, according to Tata Sons, which has recently acquired the national carrier from the Government of India.

Who Is Ilker Ayci?

Ayci, whose full name is Mehmet Ilker Ayci, is a renowned Turkish businessman. He used to be the personal advisor to Turkish President Racep Tayyip Erdogan in 1994.

Ayci has served as the chairman of Turkish Airlines from 2015 to 2022.

Before being appointed CEO of Air India on February 14, Ayci resigned from the board of Turkish Airlines.

Ayci was born in Istanbul in 1971. He is a 1994 alumnus of Bilkent University’s department of political science and public administration. After a research stay on political science at the Leeds University in the UK in 1995. He completed an international relations master’s programme at the Marmara University in Istanbul in 1997. He can speak Turkish, Russian, and English fluently, according to news reports.

Ayci, 51, has held several positions in the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. He also served as the CEO of several insurance firms from 2005 to 2011. Later, he was appointed the president of the Prime Ministry Investment Promotion and Support Agency, Turkey.

In 2013, Ilker Ayci became the vice-president of the World Association of Investment Promotion agencies and was promoted to chairman in 2014. He held this position until 2015. Ayci then joined Turkish Airlines and served as its chairperson.

As of 2022, his net worth is around $5 million.