Vuslat Doğan Sabanci

Vuslat Doğan Sabanci is an international business leader and philanthropist, as well as a leading voice on human rights, gender equality, and independent media in Turkey and globally.

Currently, Ms. Doğan Sabanci is the Chairwoman of Hürriyet, the leading Turkish newspaper and the country's largest independent news outlet. She is also a Member of the Board of Dogan Group of Companies Holding, one of Turkey's largest business enterprises.

For the last 67 years, Hürriyet has been the most influential media brand in Turkey. One in two Turkish Internet users interact with Hürriyet’s online content daily, more than any other company site. The company, under Ms. Doğan Sabanci's leadership, launched a massive digital transformation to become one of Turkey's biggest internet groups in digital content and online classifieds.

Before joining Hürriyet, Ms. Doğan Sabanci worked at The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, where she aided in the formation of the Asian Business World News Channel and the Latin American Edition of the Journal.  She holds a BA degree in Economics from Bilkent University and completed her graduate studies in International Media and Communications at Columbia University's SIPA. She currently serves on the Columbia University's Global Centers Advisory Board.

Ms. Doğan Sabanci has been actively advancing positive discussions and images about Islam, having co-hosted with the Atlantic Council "Islamophobia: Overcoming Myths and Engaging in a Better Conversation" and, together with her family, sponsored the Art of Qu'ran Exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution.  To advance the social empowerment of women, in 2004 she initiated the "No! To Domestic Violence" campaign. The campaign was honored with a UN Grand Award for outstanding achievement in public relations in October 2006 and was also introduced as a role model in the European Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly Women's Rights Commission's report. For the empowerment of women in politics, Ms. Doğan Sabanci initiated The Rightful Women Platform, which was formed together with 42 prominent NGOs. The platform strives to achieve equal representation of women in politics, business and in social life. Via her support of a major microcredit project of the Grameen Bank in Turkey, Ms. Doğan Sabanci is also contributing to the economic empowerment of Turkish women.
 

Ms. Doğan Sabanci is a life time honorary board member of International Press Institute (IPI) that serves for the freedom of expression and media. She is the Founding Board Member of Endeavour Turkey which cultivates entrepreneurship in Turkey. Ms. Doğan Sabanci is also member of the Industry & Business Association (TUSIAD), and Turkish Businesswoman Association (TIKAD).
 

Source: Biography provided by Vuslat Doğan Sabanci’s office.