Murat Ülker

Murat Ülker
Yıldız Holding and pladis Chairman
Born	(1959-03-21) March 21, 1959 (age 58)
Residence	Istanbul, Turkey
Nationality	Turkish
Education	İstanbul Erkek Lisesi , Boğaziçi University
Occupation	Businessman , Industrialist
Net worth	US$3.9 billion (2017)
Children	Yahya Ülker , Mustafa Ülker , Fatih Ülker

Murat Ülker (born 1959 in Istanbul, Turkey), he is a Turkish industrialist and businessman, and is chairman of Yıldız Holding, the largest food company in Central & Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Turkey's leading food group. Ülker is a second generation executive of the Ülker family business, which was established by his father, Sabri Ülker, and uncle, Asım Ülker, in 1944.

Ülker is an accomplished baker and chocolatier; he began his professional career in 1982 and received further training at the American Institute of Baking (AIB) and Zentralfachschule der Deutschen Süßwarenwirtschaft (ZDS). He also worked as an intern at the Continental Baking Company in the US.

Ülker joined Yıldız Holding as a control coordinator in 1984. Over the following years, he served as assistant general manager for enterprises, and later, as general manager.

In 2000, Ülker became the CEO of Yıldız Holding, and he has served as chairman since 2008.

Under Ülker’s chairmanship, Yıldız Holding made several acquisitions and in 2016 it brought together United Biscuits, Ulker, Godiva Chocolatier and DeMet’s Candy Company to form a new global business, pladis.

According to Euromonitor International, pladis is currently number 3 in biscuits and number 7 in chocolate globally. Ülker is the company’s chairman.

Murat Ülker's family roots go back to Alushta, Crimea. There, his family was known as the "Devletler" family. His grandfather, Hacı İslam Efendi, was a teacher who graduated from the Fatih Madrasa. Hacı İslam Efendi married a fellow immigrant from Crimea in Thrace. During his service in Saray, Tekirdağ, he moved to Istanbul because of the Balkan War and then returned to their homeland in Crimea. His father, Sabri Ülker, was born in Korbekul a village in Alushta, in 1920. The family migrated to Istanbul as a result of the oppression of Muslims following the Bolshevik Revolution The entrepreneurial spirit of his father, Sabri, and his uncle, Asım, created the confectionery business in the 1940s. Later on, in 1944, they named the biscuit they produced Ülker, a name that later became part of Yıldız Holding. Meanwhile, the previous family name Berksan was changed in 1954 in order to prevent ambiguity since they had made a reputation in business circles with the Ülker brand name.