‘Women to Watch: Women Who Make a Difference’ ceremony was held at Swissotel The Bosphorus, Istanbul.
Gizem Keçeci played a decisive role in the momentum that Vodafone has achieved in the past few years, as well as in forming the company’s new communication strategy. Manager of one of the largest media budgets in the country, Keçeci’s greatest support comes from her family.
Gizem Keçeci, Vodafone Turkey, Marketing Communications and Corporate Diversity Director
“I believe that the key to success, not only professionally but in every aspect of life, is to love whatever it is you do and work hard.” These words summarize the philosophy behind Gizem Keçeci’s accomplishments. Her success story is based on an understanding that we perhaps encounter very rarely in our professional lives: simplicity and ease… Keçeci relays one of her favorite quotes: “I’m sorry I wrote such a long letter. I did not have the time to write a short one” by Abraham Lincoln, who emphasized the importance and difficulty of simplifying a task and seeing what’s easy.
Under her direction, Vodafone Turkey has been chosen as “Turkey’s most recommended operator” for three years, yet the team’s success isn’t limited to this accolade. The marketing communication program that Vodafone started by creating the “Turkish Recipe,” considered to be exemplary around the world due to the incredible growth graphic provided by the “U-turn” program, is one of Keçeci’s proudest moments of her career, one that came at the end of her first year at Vodafone. Another one is the company’s double-digit growth figures since 2009.
Believing that one of the most important qualities of a good leader is the value he or she places in the team and in teamwork, Keçeci encourages her team to be leaders in their own fields; she describes herself as a goal-oriented manager who knows herself well and is aware of her strengths as well as areas for improvement: “In my professional life, I benefited from being open to continuous learning, self-development and change. To be a good leader, you have to work with determination and patience and transform challenge into motivation. I also believe that learning lessons from mistakes is a virtue.”
Leaders who pave the way for achievement and shape the development and transformation of their industries are professional role models for Keçeci. Nevertheless, the most important factor in Gizem Keçeci’s career is her family. She believes that throughout her career, her family has been her greatest support, stating that the happiness and order in her family life contribute directly to her professional success. She talks about her husband, children and mother with love and pride: “My husband provided great support, particularly in sharing household responsibilities, and together with my kids he made me feel that they’re beside me every step of the way.”
Keçeci’s mother is a high-level executive as well. In describing the woman who successfully raised two children at a time when far fewer women were pursuing careers, Keçeci says: “I’ve been proud of my mother since childhood, and she has always been an important role model to me.”
“In my professional life, I benefited from being open to continuous learning, self-development and change.”
