Cengiz Solakoğlu was born in Erzurum in 1943. He graduated from Istanbul Economics and Business Sciences Academy in 1964. Having started his career as a salesperson at Beko S.A in 1967, he operated as the General Manager of Beko S.A. in 1977-1982 and of Atılım Corporate Group in 1983 – 1990. Later on, he executed as the President of Retail and Non-Durable Goods at Koç Holding and retired as the President of Durable Goods from Koc Holding due to the 60 years of age limit in 2004. He is among the founders of the Educational Volunteers Foundation of Turkey (TEGV) and the 1907 Fenerbahçe Foundation. He was a council member of the İstanbul Chamber of Commerce for two terms and of the Istanbul Chamber of Industry for three terms. From the day TEGV was founded, he has remained a member of the Board of Directors and was the chairman of the Board of Directors intermittently for ten years. He remains acting as either member or the chairman of the Board of Directors in various preliminary organizations in the industry. Active in the business for 57 years, Cengiz Solakoğlu is married with two children and three grandchildren.
