‘Women to Watch: Women Who Make a Difference’ ceremony was held at Swissotel The Bosphorus, Istanbul.
The Mindshare Turkey office that Demet Ikiler built from nothing became the country’s largest media agency, while the performance of agencies tied to Group M, which she also leads, in the “data darkness” of last year has drawn a large amount of interest.
Demet Ikiler, Group M, CEO
Demet Ikiler’s career didn’t take shape like the climate she missed. With a career spanning 20 years, Ikiler has dealt with many a crisis during this time. To start from the end, about two years ago WPP decided to combine its media agencies in Turkey under the auspices of Group M, and Ikiler was put in charge of this structure. However, during a nine-month span last year there was no data produced in Turkey. Despite this “data darkness,” Group M companies, under Demet Ikiler’s lead, had a successful year.
At the young age of 30, Ikiler received an offer from WPP to set up Mindshare’s Turkey office. Even though, in her own words, she “didn’t have any real company management experience,” she accepted the position as general manager of a company that would be built from scratch. Moreover, this was in 2001, a year when advertising investments were cut in half. In fact, Ikiler describes this deciding moment as the sharpest turning point of her career.
With its foundations laid during that time, Mindshare became a media planning and buying agency serving the largest domestic and foreign advertisers, thanks to Demet Ikiler’s support of and belief in her teammates.
Group M’s success during the “data darkness” was also reflected in its awards performance. A Group M subsidiary, Mindshare was chosen as the year’s media agency at the MediaCat Felis Awards.
Ikiler describes herself as a goal-oriented person who believes in growing and developing. So at the beginning of her career 20 years ago, did she imagine these days would come? “I’ve had dreams all my life, and I’m very lucky that most of them came true. I had dreams on the first day, and what’s interesting is that even today I dream about what’s next. I still don’t think I’ve reached the endpoint.”
Ikiler participated in world-renowned women’s leader Charlotte Beers’s seminar geared specifically towards female leaders, and at the end of the training she was enlightened about two of her essential qualities: The first is that she never gives up, that she fights until the end. The second is the genuine, real relationship she has been able to establish with her team and business partners. Ikiler views the strong relationships based on trust that she has built with her team and business partners as the greatest accomplishment and wealth of her career.
Ikiler says she doesn’t take on a different role in her business life, and has this to say about life outside of her professional one: “I’m positive, and I care about spending quality time well. I believe in few but long-term, strong friendships. My family is a top priority and very important to me. Just like my team at work… I can’t be nourished without laughter and joy. I know that it’s necessary to make people happy in order for me to be happy. Yet sometimes, I miss being alone. I need this, even if it’s just to think.”
“I’ve had dreams all my life, and I’m very lucky that most of them came true. I had dreams on the first day, and what’s interesting is that even today I dream about what’s next.”
Kullanıcı adını ya da e-posta adresini gir. Sana bir e-posta göndereceğiz. Oradaki bağlantıya tıklayarak parolanı sıfırlayabilirsin.
Here you'll find all collections you've created before.
