Management
Management
Board of Directors
Anar MAMMADOV
Chairman of the Board
Anar Mammadov was born in Baku in 1971. He completed his medical education at Azerbaijan Medical University. Then he graduated from Baku State University, Department of Law. He completed his MBA in TRIUM Global Executive MBA and his Ph.D. in oil supply, logistics, and trade at the UK College of Petroleum Studies.
Between 1995 and 1998, he managed the Avista company he founded. Between 1998 and 2007, he worked as a regional director at Milio International. He served as CEO at Arxiel Carbonexis between 2007 and 2009, at SOCAR Georgia between 2009 and 2014, and SOCAR Greece between 2014 and 2016. After becoming the General Manager of Petkim in 2016, he was appointed as the Head of SOCAR Türkiye Refinery and Petrochemical Business Unit in November 2019.
Mammadov, awarded the Taraggi (Progress) Medal by the Presidency of Azerbaijan in 2018, has more than 15 years of experience in the oil and energy sector. He also speaks fluent English, Russian, and Greek.
Kenan Najafov
Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors
Kenan Najafov was born in 1975. He graduated from Baku State University with a degree in International Law and International Relations in 1997, from American University Washington College of Law in 1999, in International Business Law, and from the University of Wharton School of Pennsylvania in 2003 with a degree in Business Administration.
He started his career as an operations specialist at the World Bank's Azerbaijan office in 1996 and worked in the Washington and Baku offices of Baker Botts global law firm in 1999.
Najafov worked in the Business Analysis and Business Development department of BP PLC's London and Aberdeen offices between 2003 and 2008. Between 2008 and 2012, he worked as an Investment Analyst at CITIGROUP and EXANE BNP PARIBAS, Vice President at CITIGROUP, and Chief Strategy Officer and Deputy CEO at NOBEL OIL between 2012-2015. He worked in the private sector for the next five years, and since 2020, he has served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Business Development Fund of the Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan.
On August 11, 2021, by the decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, he was appointed as the Deputy Chairman of SOCAR.
Zaur Gurbanov
Board Member
Zaur Gurbanov was born in 1982 in Mingachevir. He served in Azerbaijani Armed Forces and participated in peacekeeping operations from 2000-2005. He graduated from Odlar Yurdu University with a bachelor's degree in Business Organization and Management in 2010 master's degree in Finance from the Azerbaijan University of Economics in 2012.
He had labor activities in various local and foreign companies from 2005-2010. He held different positions at 'Ernst & Young' an international audit and consulting firm, as advance higher-level staff, senior consultant, manager, senior manager, and director from 2010-2020. He has attended several pieces of training over these years. Since 2020, he has served as Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Azerbaijan Investment Holding.
On August 11, 2021, he was appointed Vice President of SOCAR by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan decree. He serves as the Supervisory Board Member in 'Azerbaijan Caspian Sea Shipping' CJSC, 'Azerbaijan Airlines' CJSC, and 'Baku Metropolitan' CJSC based on the decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Elchin Ibadov
Board member
Elchin Ibadov graduated from the University of Illinois-Chicago and in 2002 started to work at the World Trade Center Chicago as Research Specialist. Beginning in 2003, he took on a series of positions at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). In the period 2014-2019, Elchin Ibadov worked as Finance Director and CFO at STAR Refinery. In November 2019, he was appointed as CFO of Petkim, meantime assumed the role of Head of Finance of SOCAR Türkiye Refinery and Petrochemicals Business Unit, including STAR Refinery, Petkim, SOCAR Storage and SOCAR Petrol Ticaret. Elchin Ibadov completed a professional training and certification programs at Harvard Business School. He has authored and translated various textbooks of economics, accounting, finance, International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and financial auditing. Ibadov is also a permanent member of international finance and auditing organizations such as ACCA, ACFE and IIA. Ibadov has served as CEO of SOCAR Türkiye since February 2023.
Ömür Önk
Board Member
After completing undergraduate studies in the Business Administration (English) department at Marmara University, Ömür Önk began his professional career at KPMG Turkey. Following roles in the audit and advisory departments at KPMG, he gained experience in private equity, investment banking, mergers and acquisitions, project finance, strategy, and business development at Alkhair Capital, Unlu & Co., and Global Investment Holding.
Ömür Önk obtained the CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) Charterholder designation in 2013. He successfully completed the INSEAD MBA program in 2015.
From 2018 to 2019, Ömür Önk served as the CFO at Revo Capital. In 2019, he joined SOCAR Türkiye Enerji A.Ş., providing interim support as the CFO of the Gas Business Unit during the acquisition of EWE Holding and its integration into the SOCAR group. In 2020, Ömür Önk became the CFO of Millenicom, and in February 2022, he was promoted to the position of Millenicom General Manager. Since January 2024, he has been serving as the Chief Strategy and Sustainability Officer at SOCAR Türkiye Enerji A.Ş
Murat ZAMAN
Independent Board Member
Murat Zaman received his bachelor's degree from Istanbul University, Faculty of Political Sciences, Department of Public Administration, in 1997 and his master's degree from Marmara University in 2006. Later, he started his career as an investment consultant at EVG Menkul Değerler and worked in investment advisory and research units at Riva Menkul Değerler and Karon Menkul Değerler, respectively...
He joined Ak Portfolio Management in 2002 and worked as the group manager responsible for managing retirement and investment funds and determining investment strategies until 2010. He joined EVG Menkul Değerler in 2011 as the assistant general manager responsible for individual portfolios and mutual funds. Between 2012 and 2019, he worked at Halk Portföy Yönetimi A.Ş. as assistant general manager responsible for investment strategies and management of investment/retirement funds. He joined Halk Yatırım Menkul Değerler A.Ş. at the beginning of 2019 as the assistant general manager responsible for the treasury, research, human resources, administrative and legal, financial affairs, operations, and information technologies units.
Between 2019 and 2021, he served as the General Manager of Financial Markets and Foreign Exchange, responsible for strengthening the institutional framework for monitoring and managing systemic risks within the Ministry of Treasury and Finance. During this period, he carried out studies on the development of financial instruments and markets, the development of policies and mechanisms that will facilitate enterprises' access to finance, foreign exchange legislation, and the determination of the principles of foreign exchange policies. He also served as a Board Member in the TÜBİTAK Risk Venture Capital Support Program and Turkish Investment Initiative, which was established in partnership with the European Investment Fund and the Ministry of Treasury and Finance.
Bekir Emre HAYKIR
Independent Board Member
Bekir Emre Haykır, born in Ankara in 1980, graduated from Ankara University Faculty of Law in 2001 and completed his master's degree in International Finance Law at King's College London and European Union Studies at Bahçeşehir University.
Bekir Emre Haykır started working as a professional staff member at the Capital Markets Board in 2003 after completing his law internship. During this period, he served as a specialist lawyer, auditor, and head of the market audit group. In 2013, he started to work as a manager in charge of financial law services at the PwC Istanbul office.
Haykır has been working as the Vice President of the Privatization Board of Türkiye since 2016 and as the Head of the Privatization Board of Türkiye since February 2019.