Lale Saral Develioğlu holds a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Boğaziçi University and a master’s degree in Management Engineering and Operations Research from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York.
She has 30 years of experience in marketing, strategy, business development, and general management at multinational companies, mainly in B2C, telecommunications, and consumer goods markets. She spent 12 years at Unilever and 11 years at Turkcell, where she served as Chief Marketing Officer and Chief International Businesses Officer.
During her time at Turkcell, she was responsible for critical transition projects such as the 3G launch, number portability, and customer experience management. She also oversaw Turkcell’s group companies in 8 countries and led international expansion strategies, achieving double-digit growth every year. Following her tenure at Turkcell, she spent 3.5 years at Yıldız Holding and Pladis, contributing significantly to the formation of the global confectionery company’s brand strategy based in the UK.
She has received numerous awards, including being named “Best Marketing Person” of Turkey in 2009, receiving the “Women to Watch” award for marketing in 2014, and being listed among the “Top 100 Influencers” in the global Creativepool Annual 2018.
Lale has served as an Executive Board Member of the Advertisers’ Association of Turkey (RVD) and the Advertising Self-Regulatory Body (RÖK). She has also taught “Strategic Brand Management” at the executive master’s program at Bilgi University.
She holds executive and independent board member roles in various companies spanning telecommunications, consumer packaged goods, retail, customer service, and gaming across Turkey, the Middle East, CIS countries, and Europe. Currently, she serves as a board member at Anadolu Efes, Aksa Akrilik, and Nobel Pharmacy.
She is a mentor at INSEAD’s INSights Director Mentoring Program and YKKD Mentoring Program and acts as a strategy and brand consultant to various companies. An advocate for women leadership, she is a founder and board member of YKKD (Women on Board Association) and a member of the International Women Forum (IWF).
A technology enthusiast and a certified angel investor, she has invested in six technology companies in Turkey and the USA.
She is also the author of a personal development book titled Karar Verdim, focusing on effective decision-making, published in 2015. Lale is married and has one son.