Ali Akarçay

Barış Özus is Director, Digital Assets at Yapı Kredi, a position he has held since April 2024. In this role he sits within the Product department, focused on digital assets at the bank. His stated areas of focus include digital assets, cryptocurrency, DeFi, blockchain, data and technology, digital transformation, and digital banking.

Prior to joining Yapı Kredi, Özus was at Garanti BBVA, where he served as Head of Product for Digital Assets from October 2022 to March 2024, and was a founding member of Garanti BBVA Kripto. Before that role, he held two concurrent positions at Garanti BBVA: Manager of Treasury Sales and Financial Solutions, where he worked on big data, strategy, and technology-driven business development and transformation projects; and Manager in Investment Banking, Business Development and Sales Coordination, focused on yield enhancement and alternative investment solutions including capital protected funds across currencies, equity indices, interest rates, and commodities. He also held a Supervisor role in Investment Banking, Derivatives Structuring and Strategy at Garanti BBVA from January 2009 to September 2013, with a similar focus on alternative investment solutions and structured products. An earlier role at Garanti Bank in Private Banking Product Management is noted but without detail in the available source. His total professional experience spans approximately 19 years. He holds a CFA designation.

Doruk Yılmaz is a professional with experience at Move Intermodal Lojistik A.S. and education from Özyeğin University. He has a background in logistics and business, with a strong network in Turkey.

Emre Bereket is Head of Digital Asset AML Compliance at Yapı Kredi, a position he has held since August 2024. In this role he leads the bank's digital asset anti-money laundering compliance function. He holds Chainalysis certifications in Cryptocurrency Fundamentals, Reactor, and Ethereum Investigations, all issued in 2025, alongside his broader AML credentials.

Bereket's career at Yapı Kredi and its subsidiaries spans nearly 14 years. Prior to his current position, he served as Head of AML Compliance Officer (MLRO) at Yapı Kredi Faktoring from June 2021 to August 2024, where he held primary responsibility for anti-money laundering compliance at the factoring subsidiary. Before that, he was a Sanctions Specialist within Yapı Kredi's Legal department from August 2015 to June 2021, and an Operations Officer from June 2012 to August 2015. He holds certifications from ACAMS in CAMS (2022) and CGSS (2023), an ICA qualification in Trade-Based Money Laundering (2024), and Capital Market Activities Level 3 and Credit Rating licences issued by the Turkish capital markets licensing body. He studied at Yeditepe University between 2015 and 2017.

Evren Bilen is Head of Digital Channels Investments & Assets Application Development at Yapı Kredi Technology, a position he has held since January 2021. In this role he oversees the development and implementation of digital channel investment and asset management applications. In March 2024, he led the team that introduced foreign stock trading capabilities to Yapı Kredi's mobile banking platform.

Bilen has been with Yapı Kredi since December 2010, initially serving as Project Analyst and UX Lead across digital channels including internet banking, mobile banking, ATM, call center, and IVR, covering both retail and corporate customers. From June 2014 he also held the role of Head of Mobile Banking Analysis, which he continues to hold concurrently. Prior to Yapı Kredi, he worked at HSBC from October 2007 to December 2010 as an Analyst Developer and Visual Designer in digital channels, and before that spent two years as a Full Stack Developer at LEO, working on e-commerce and CMS projects using PHP. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Information Technologies from Işık Üniversitesi, completed between 2000 and 2006.