Yeliz İsmi

Yeliz İsmi is a successful Head of Finance with over 20 years of experience in managing complex financial operations in multinational organizations, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), and leading high-performing teams. Throughout her career, she has led processes for developing strategic financial plans, executing financial transformation projects (ERP/SAP S4HANA), and optimizing business performance through data-driven insights.

The foundation of her educational background is her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Middle East Technical University (METU).

In the early years of her career, she served as an Assurance and Advisory Business Services Auditor at Ernst & Young (EY) and subsequently worked as a Budget and Reporting Specialist at Mavi Jeans. Between 2007 and 2013, she served as the Budget and Reporting Chief at Anadolu Efes Turkey; while managing the budget processes of the business with an 800-million-dollar turnover, she also led ERP projects such as strategic SAP initiatives.

Later, she worked as the Finance, Budget, and Reporting Manager at Anadolu Etap Penkon, where she implemented IT-based reporting systems (Netsis, QlikView) and undertook an active financial role in Six Sigma Green Belt operational excellence projects.

Between 2017 and 2022, she served as the Head of Finance at Kellogg Company, leading the merger between Ülker and Kellogg's and managing share transfer and contract processes. Additionally, she generated 1 million dollars in positive cash flow through supply chain finance projects. Between December 2022 and June 2024, she served as the Senior Finance Manager for the MENAT Region at Kellanova Company, successfully managing an international SAP S4HANA implementation project involving over 100 stakeholders.

In October 2024, as the Head of Finance for the META Region (Middle East, Turkey, and Africa) at Palsgaard Company, she managed the financial strategy and reporting of multi-country operations covering 39 countries with a turnover of approximately 125 million Euros.

As of January 2026, she continues her role at Palsgaard Company as the Head of Finance for the EMEC Region (Europe, Middle East, and Eastern Countries). In this role, she manages the end-to-end financial operations of the region with a turnover of approximately 200 million Euros and leads ERP transformation initiatives, including Microsoft Dynamics 365 integration.

Yeliz İsmi has strong field experience in increasing corporate profitability, OPEX and cash flow management, international financial reporting standards (IFRS, US GAAP), and agile project management (Agile).

Areas of Support

• Strategic financial planning and growth-oriented financial management

• ERP transformation initiatives and SAP S4HANA integration projects

• Mergers and acquisitions (M&A), share transfers, and contract negotiation management

• Multi-country (regional) P&L management, cost optimization, and profitability improvement

• Supply chain finance and cash flow optimization

• Financial reporting and audit processes in IFRS and US GAAP standards

• Tax, budget, treasury operations, and OPEX management

• Internal control actions and compliance of financial processes with legal regulations

• Six Sigma-supported operational excellence initiatives

• Agile project management and multinational stakeholder management

Areas of Expertise Financial Strategy | Financial Transformation Projects | Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) | ERP and SAP S4HANA Management | Accounting, IFRS, and US GAAP | OPEX and Cash Flow Management | Tax, Budget, and Treasury | Six Sigma | Agile Project Management | Stakeholder Management