Turkey
Hamdi Akın
- Founder and Chairman, Akfen Holding (Construction, infrastructure)
Born Istanbul, Turkey, 1954. BSc. Mechanical Engineering, Gazi University (1976).
“[W]e want these companies to last 100, 200, or even 300 years. We want them to survive in the long term. We don’t want them to just live and die with us.”
Summary
Hamdi Akın, chairman of the infrastructure investment company Akfen Holdings, recounts his efforts to find opportunities amid the political and economic turmoil following the military coup in Turkey in 1980. Akın, who had founded the company in Ankara, built his firm into a major provider of airport management and operations, water distribution, and port operations. Akın also reveals the background to the creation of TAV Construction, founded in 1997 as a regional concern, into one of the largest airport construction firms in the world with projects in Dubai, Libya, Tunisia, and elsewhere.
Video Clips by Topic
Government and Business (1)
Hamdi Akın, founder of infrastructure investment company Akfen Holding, describes how the military coup in Turkey in 1980 brought in a new generation of businesspeople and, especially after 1983, the possibility of synergy between the government and private sector.
Keywords:
Turkey, Government & Business
Government and Business (2)
Hamdi Akın, founder of infrastructure investment company Akfen Holding, recounts his discussion with the President of Turkey in 1990 about the need to build a larger airport at Antalya.
Keywords:
Turkey, Government & Business
Global Expansion
Hamdi Akın, founder of Akfen Holding, an infrastructure investment firm in Turkey, relates the creation of the airport management company, TAV, and its growth from a local concern to a global one.
Additional Resources
- Interview with Hamdi Akın, CNN Türk, Uludağ Ekonomi Zirvesi, March 24, 2014
- Akfen Holding Yönetim Kurulu Başkanı Hamdi Akın, Sky Türk 360-Üç Nokta, June 9, 2013
- Akfen Holding Yönetim Kurulu Başkanı Hamdi Akın, Bloomberg HT-Yönetim Katı Programı, April 4, 2013
- Akfen Holding Yönetim Kurulu Başkanı Hamdi Akın, Bloomberg HT-Focus Programı, February 19, 2013
- Akfen Holding Yönetim Kurulu Başkanı Hamdi Akın, Bloomberg HT-Tecrube Konuşuyor Programı, April 20, 2012
- Akfen Holding Yönetim Kurulu Başkanı Hamdi Akın, Sky Türk 360-EO Club Programı, March 25, 2012
- Hamdi Akın-Selim Akın-Pelin Akın, CNBC E Babalar ve Cocukları Programı, March 20, 2012
- Interview with Hamdi Akın, Bloomberg HT, 60 Dakika Programı, May 3, 2011
- “‘Istanbul’s Third Airport Should Have Been Planned Much Smaller,'” Hurriyet Daily News, December 17, 2014
- “Turkish Akfen Could Sell Assets to Support Investments,” M & A Navigator, April 4, 2013
- “Turkish Power Company Akfen Holding to Go Public,” AsiaPulse News, April 12, 2010
- “Forbes Announces Richest Turks,” Anadolu, March 2, 2009
- “Turkish Firm Completes Construction of Egyptian Airport,” Turkish Daily News, December 23, 2008
- “TAV Sees Growth in Ports,” Turkish Daily News, October 6, 2008
- “Akfen Grabs 100-Million-Euro Loan for Hotel Investment,” Turkish Daily News, August 1, 2008
- “'I Am Expanding My Business with Other People’s Money,” Capital, July 1, 2007
- “TAV: We Trust Iran Enough to Carry Out Business There,” Asia Africa Intelligence Wire, February 10, 2004
- Video file of this interview available at Baker Library Historical Collections, histcollref+hbs.edu. Harvard ID holders can access the full-length video above.
Interview Citation Format
"Interview with Hamdi Akın, interviewed by Felix Oberholzer-Gee, February 11, 2015, Creating Emerging Markets Project, Baker Library Historical Collections, Harvard Business School, http://www.hbs.edu/creating-emerging-markets/."