Expert

Dr. Verda Emiroğlu

CEO

Dr. Verda Emiroğlu is a leader with deep expertise in strategic transformation, growth, and technology management. She has held senior executive roles at institutions such as TÜBİTAK and Turkcell. She continues her career as a fractional executive and board member.

Dr. Verda Emiroğlu is a technology leader, consultant and investor with over 30 years of experience in strategic transformation, R&D, innovation management and technology-focused growth; who has played active roles in the development of Turkey's technology, entrepreneurship and R&D ecosystem.

A graduate of Istanbul Technical University in Industrial Engineering, Emiroğlu completed her master's degree in Engineering Management at the same university and her doctorate in technology management. Throughout her academic journey, with a World Bank Scientist Training Scholarship, she worked on technology-based business development projects at Intel Portland in the USA; strengthening her expertise through international-level technology and innovation-focused education including Stanford University's Technology Leadership Program.

Beginning her professional career with entrepreneurship, Emiroğlu served as R&D Planning and Business Development Manager at TÜBİTAK in 1999 and assumed a critical role in the establishment of TÜBİTAK-MAM Technology Free Zone, Turkey's first technology park. During the same period, she participated in teams creating strategic roadmaps for World Bank-supported technology programs.

Working on industry-university collaborations and fund-supported projects at Sabancı University, Emiroğlu subsequently managed strategic projects at Beko Electronics and Migros within Koç Group, directing technology-based growth and international business development processes.

In 2006, joining the management team during the establishment of Turkcell Technology, she led the formation of one of Turkey's largest technology and R&D organizations. She shaped Turkcell's innovation, internal entrepreneurship, patent management and R&D strategies; and played an important role in the company becoming one of the patent leaders by establishing an intellectual property rights management model.

In 2013, she led the establishment of one of Turkey's largest R&D centers; assuming active responsibility in organizational structuring, technology management and scaling of innovation processes.

With Stravision, which she founded in 2017, Emiroğlu turned toward consulting in technology and business transformation; providing strategic leadership in Doğuş Technology R&D centers, Cisco innovation center and many technology-focused transformation projects. The structure developed through Cisco Turkey innovation center business model work won awards at international scale.

In addition to her corporate experience, she actively participates in the entrepreneurship ecosystem as an investor and mentor; providing strategic support in deep tech, digital agriculture, innovation and technology ventures. Her investor and board experience in the Urla Digital Agriculture venture has strengthened her perspective combining technology with sustainability.

Playing active roles in civil society and the entrepreneurship ecosystem, Emiroğlu carries out mentoring and governance duties on numerous platforms in women leadership, entrepreneurship and technology.

Today her focus centers on transforming companies' technology investments into growth, establishing innovation systems and creating sustainable competitive advantage.

Areas of Contribution

Design and management of strategic transformation programs
Development of R&D and innovation strategies
Technology management and technology roadmaps
Establishment of corporate innovation systems
R&D center establishment and scaling
Product development and technology-based growth
Deep tech ventures and technology commercialization
Entrepreneurship and startup scaling processes
AI strategies and transformation programs
Business development and new revenue model design
Patents, intellectual property and innovation management
Creation of industry-university collaborations
Technology-focused growth strategies
Digital transformation and organizational transformation
Board consulting and mentoring
Angel investing and investment preparation processes

Areas of Expertise

Dr. Verda Emiroğlu