Osman Okyay
Vice Chairman
Osman Okyay received his BSc. degree in Mechanical Engineering at the Bogazici University (formerly Robert's College), Istanbul, Turkey, in 1988, then his MSc. degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of New Hampshire, NH, USA, in 1990. He also attended the Executive MBA program at the Koc University, in Istanbul in 1994. In 1990, he started working for Digital Equipment Corp., Istanbul Office, as a Field Service Engineer, later promoted to Services Planning Manager.
Osman Okyay joined Kale Group in 1994 and worked as the Deputy General Manager of Kale Kalıp, then General Manager of Kale Kalıp. Today, Today, he serves as the Vice Chairman at Kale Group.
Osman Okyay took the initiative to diversify Kale Group into high-tech fields such as robotics & automation, industrial energy equipment, software simulation, defence and aerospace.
Kale Group's partnerships with Pratt & Whitney and General Electric were also led by Osman Okyay. Kale Group has also become a direct supplier to world’s leading defence and aerospace companies such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Airbus, Northrop Grumman. With the leadership of Osman Okyay, Kale Group established a joint venture with Rolls-Royce to conduct activities on development, production and maintenance of jet engines in 2017.
Osman Okyay assumes various roles in several NGOs, associations, foundations and chamber boards. He serves as the Chairman of Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Çanakkale. He is the Chairman of Turkish-Canadian Business Council and Board Member of Turkish-USA Business Council and Vice Chairman of Turkish-UK Business Council, under DEIK (Foreign Economic Relations Board) of Turkey, Board Member of International Investors Association (YASED), and the Chairman of Aerospace Cluster Association (HUKD) headquartered in Izmir.
He served as the 2nd term Chairman of the Turkish-American Business Council formed under the Framework for Strategic, Economic and Commercial Cooperation (FSECC). Osman is a member of the Board of Trustees at the Eisenhower Fellowships. He is also a member of the General Assembly of OYAK Holding. Osman also serves on the Board of Directors of Boğaziçi University and Fatih Sultan Mehmet University and Gebze Technical University Foundations.
He is married to Zeynep Bodur Okyay, President and CEO of Kale Group of Companies and they have one child.