Our Managing Partner, Erdem Mümtaz Hacıpaşaoğlu, took part in the Alumni Circles sessions on the third day of the second Summit of LEAD21’s 10th cohort, held on Saturday 10 October 2026. The Summit is the residential gathering of the LEAD21 Fellowship Program run by the Yenibirlider Association; its final day brings alumni from different cohorts together with the fellows of the current cohort.
In the Alumni Circles format, alumni who have gone on to build careers, found companies and create value in their fields share their experiences, career paths and leadership stories with the new fellows in small groups. Mümtaz joined as an alumnus of LEAD21’s first cohort.
The alumni in the circles
According to the association’s announcement, the alumni taking part were Aleyna Yılmaz (Bupa Türkiye, Transformation Senior Consultant, 5th cohort), Aslı Bayram (Turkcell, Master Brand & Loyalty Marketing Manager, 2nd cohort), Berke Yalman (Hidance & Slash Agency, Co-Founder, 6th cohort), Erdem Mümtaz Hacıpaşaoğlu (Vircon Legal, Managing Partner, 1st cohort), Gaye İspekter (Pentome Studio, Co-Founder, 6th cohort), İsmail Alp Aydemir (Sophi, Co-Founder & CTO, 5th cohort), Mahmut Kurt (Ace Games, Chief of Staff, 5th cohort), Oğuz Sirkecioğlu (Hidance & Slash Agency, Co-Founder, 7th cohort), Özgür Olgun (Innovator Studios, Founder, 1st cohort) and Taha Sönmez (Getir, Senior Product Manager, 3rd cohort).
Ten years with the association
Mümtaz was selected for the first cohort of the association’s fellowship programme in 2016 and has stayed involved since, most recently as Startup Mentor to a fellow in the 10th cohort. The Alumni Circles session closes the loop: the programme’s first cohort speaking with its tenth.
The association thanked QNBeyond, the Summit’s event supporter. The announcement is on the Yenibirlider Association’s LinkedIn page.
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