Turkish Airlines changes company leadership: Murat Şeker takes over the Board, Ahmet Olmuştur becomes CEO
Turkish Airlines announced on April 9, 2026, one of the most important personnel changes in recent years: Professor Murat Şeker was appointed Chairman of the Board and Executive Committee, while Ahmet Olmuştur took over the position of the company’s Chief Executive Officer. This is a change that goes beyond the usual rotation at the top of a large company, because it comes at a time when the Turkish national carrier stands between ambitious global expansion, rising operating costs, and the need to preserve profitability in an industry that remains highly sensitive to geopolitical disruptions, fuel prices, interest rates, and changes in passenger demand.
According to Turkish Airlines’ official announcements to investors, former Chairman of the Board Ahmet Bolat, board members Bilal Ekşi and Mecit Eş stepped down from their positions, after which the board decided to appoint Murat Şeker to head the board. In the same package of changes, Ahmet Olmuştur, Metin Gülşen, and Hasan Murat Mercan were appointed to the vacant board positions, with the note that those appointments must be confirmed at the next first general assembly. In a separate notice, the company also stated that the change at the head of the executive function occurred due to the retirement of former Chief Executive Officer Bilal Ekşi, after which Ahmet Olmuştur, the former Chief Commercial Officer, was appointed as the new CEO. At the same time, Metin Gülşen took over the function of Chief Financial Officer, and Harun Baştürk the function of Chief Commercial Officer.
The change comes at a sensitive moment for global aviation
The decision to change the top of the company comes at a stage when Turkish Airlines is formally entering a new chapter of development. In its latest presentations for investors, the company highlighted that it closed 2025 with more than 500 aircraft in the fleet, with 303 international destinations in 131 countries, and with new destinations such as Seville, Ohrid, Port Sudan, and Phnom Penh. At the same time, further growth was announced for 2026, including a targeted network of 356 destinations in 132 countries, with new international routes to Yerevan, Chengdu, Timişoara, Ürümqi, Monrovia, and Bissau. Such dynamics show that the change at the top of the company is not happening in a period of stagnation, but in the midst of operational and investment expansion.
That is precisely why this personnel transition also carries clear strategic weight. When a company with such a broad network changes its Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer at almost the same time, the market does not read that only as a personnel change, but as a signal of a new balance between financial discipline, growth management, and commercial policy. Turkish Airlines is not a regional carrier whose position is measured only in the domestic market. It is one of the globally most exposed Eurasian companies, with a hub in Istanbul and a business model that relies on transfer passengers, a strong cargo segment, an extensive international network, and an intensive presence in the markets of Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.
Who the new company leaders are
Murat Şeker’s official profile shows why the company entrusted the presidential function to him. At Turkish Airlines, since July 2016, he has led the areas of finance, treasury, accounting, procurement, and investor relations. Since March 2021, he has been a member of the board and executive committee, and at the same time he also holds duties in affiliated companies, including Turkish Technic and SunExpress. In other words, this is a manager who in recent years has been deeply involved in all key levers of financial and corporate governance, from fleet financing and capital expenditures to communication with the capital market. In a company entering a new phase of growth, such a profile suggests an emphasis on balance sheet, liquidity, and investment pace control.
Ahmet Olmuştur, the new CEO, comes from the strongly operational and commercial part of the company. According to his official biography, he began his career at the Turkish Airlines call center back in 2000, after which he worked in flight analytics, revenue management, and pricing policy. Over the years, he led global distribution systems, revenue management, and pricing, and since 2014 he has held several leading commercial functions, including the positions of Chief Marketing and Sales Officer and, until his appointment as CEO, Chief Commercial Officer. His previous responsibility included network planning, pricing strategies, sales and marketing, customer experience, the Miles&Smiles program, and corporate communications. This means that the company’s top position is being taken by a man who knows from the inside the mechanics of revenue, market behavior, and passenger dynamics, which is especially important at a time when carriers must react quickly to changes in demand and competitive pressure.
What the figures say: revenue growth with pressure on costs
The latest financial and operational data explain why Turkish Airlines is simultaneously seeking both financial strength and commercial agility. According to the published results for the fourth quarter and the whole of 2025, total revenues increased from 22.7 to 24.1 billion U.S. dollars, while passenger business revenues increased from 18.4 to 19.8 billion dollars. At the same time, capacity, measured in available seat-kilometers, increased from 254 to 273 billion ASKs. In its investor presentation, the company stated that revenue growth of around seven percent was largely supported by strong results in Asia and Africa, while EBITDAR remained stable despite weaker cargo performance and inflationary pressures on wages and airport costs.
These data are important because they show the dual reality of Turkish Airlines. On the one hand, the company continues to grow, expand capacity, and manage to generate higher revenues. On the other hand, that growth can no longer be viewed without careful management of costs and yields. In such an environment, a Chairman of the Board with financial experience and a Chief Executive Officer with deep commercial knowledge are a logical combination. Turkish Airlines also emphasizes in its presentation that its EBITDAR margin for 2025 amounted to 23.3 percent, while the comparable industry average was 16.1 percent. Return on invested capital reached 11.6 percent, compared with the industry’s 6.8 percent. Such indicators show that the company remains above the industry average, but also that preserving that advantage will require precise leadership in a period of further expansion.
Why Olmuştur’s profile is important for the next phase of growth
The selection of Ahmet Olmuştur as CEO can also be read as a message that Turkish Airlines wants to further connect network growth, revenue management, and customer experience. In recent years, the company has been intensively positioning itself as a global carrier that competes not only through the size of its network, but also through product quality, hub efficiency, and commercial flexibility. On the official Turkish Airlines website, it still points out that it flies to more than 120 countries, while investor presentations speak more precisely of 303 international destinations in 131 countries during 2025. This is an important difference because it shows that the company simultaneously communicates its brand to the broader public and its operational depth to the capital market.
Olmuştur is a manager who has spent most of his career precisely in the areas that determine whether such a network will generate the desired revenue. Managing fares, distribution channels, load factors, passenger segmentation, and market positioning are no longer supporting functions, but the core of the business model of every major airline. In a period when competition on long-haul routes is intensifying and passengers are reacting ever more sensitively to price, flexibility, and service quality, Turkish Airlines is clearly assessing that it needs at the head of operations a man who understands how revenue is built at the level of each market, each flight schedule, and each sales channel.
Şeker’s appointment suggests an increased focus on the balance sheet and investments
On the other hand, the appointment of Murat Şeker to head the board can be seen as a signal of continuity in the area of financial discipline. Turkish Airlines is not in a phase in which it is only defending its existing position, but at the same time investing in the fleet, international partnerships, and related businesses. In its presentation for investors, the company recalled its minority entry into Air Europa, a joint business agreement with Thai Airways, the development of an engine maintenance center with Rolls-Royce, and expansion through TK Pay. All these are moves that show the company is seeking to expand its influence beyond classic passenger transport.
Such projects require a different type of managerial concentration than is the case in calmer market cycles. It is not enough only to increase the number of routes and aircraft; it is also necessary at the same time to keep in mind the cost of capital, aircraft delivery deadlines, financing efficiency, currency risks, and the return on major investments. In that context, Şeker’s previous work in finance, treasury, and investor relations provides a clear framework for understanding the company’s move. Turkish Airlines thereby shows that it wants to lead further expansion with increased institutional and financial control, and not only through capacity growth.
A broader message to the market and partners
For the capital market, creditors, suppliers, and international partners, changes like these are as a rule just as important as the financial figures themselves. Turkish Airlines has already published on its investor pages the schedule for new results: the financial report for the first quarter of 2026 is scheduled for April 29, and the investor call for April 30. This means that the new management will very soon have its first opportunity to show how it sees the continuation of the year, especially regarding revenue growth, cost discipline, planned capacity, and the effects of new routes.
For business partners, the fact that the change is not coming from outside, but from within the organization itself, is additionally important. Both Şeker and Olmuştur have been present at the top of the company for years and know well the internal processes, the route portfolio, the strategic priorities, and the way Turkish Airlines communicates with investors and the market. Such internal succession is usually interpreted as an attempt to preserve continuity with a correction of emphasis, and not as a sudden turn. In other words, for now the company is not sending a message of breaking with its previous strategy, but a message of redefining leadership for the next phase of the same ambition.
What comes next for Turkish Airlines
The key question now is not only who sat in which chair, but what results the new leadership will deliver in a year in which the company is planning new capacity growth, higher revenues, and further network expansion. According to the goals from the current presentation, in 2026 Turkish Airlines expects total revenue growth of six to nine percent, passenger capacity growth of seven to nine percent, and the end of the year with a fleet of 560 to 570 aircraft. The ambition is at the same time to exceed 100 million passengers. These are figures that in themselves create high expectations, but also increase the risk of operational bottlenecks if growth is not aligned with infrastructure, costs, and demand.
That is why the change at the top of Turkish Airlines can be seen as an attempt by the company to arrange in advance its managerial architecture for the next cycle. Murat Şeker represents support in finance, the balance sheet, and investment discipline, while Ahmet Olmuştur embodies commercial experience and an in-depth understanding of the network, pricing, and passenger product. In an industry in which success is no longer measured only by the number of destinations, but by the ability to turn growth into sustainable profit and stable cash flow, it will be precisely the combination of those two dimensions that determines whether Turkish Airlines will retain in the new term the position of one of the world’s most agile and most ambitious carriers.
Sources:- - Turkish Airlines Investor Relations – official announcement on the change in senior management and the appointment of Ahmet Olmuştur as CEO, as well as Metin Gülşen and Harun Baştürk to new functions (link)
- - Turkish Airlines Investor Relations – official announcement on resignations on the board and the appointment of Murat Şeker as Chairman of the Board, as well as new board members (link)
- - Turkish Airlines Investor Relations – official profiles of board members with the biographies of Murat Şeker and Ahmet Olmuştur (link)
- - Turkish Airlines Investor Relations – investor homepage with the announcement of the publication of results for the first quarter of 2026 and the investor call (link)
- - Turkish Airlines Investor Presentation 4Q25 – official presentation with data on revenues, capacity, fleet, destination network, and targets for 2026 (link)
- - Turkish Airlines – official page with the flight network and communication on the company’s global presence (link)
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