Elif Ateş Özpak, QRD
Title & Company: Portfolio Independent Director | Founder of Kybele Consulting Ltd.
Expertise: Corporate Governance, Sustainability, Development Finance, Risk Governance, Board Effectiveness
Biography:
Elif Ateş Özpak, is a UK- and Türkiye-based independent board member with over 30 years of experience in corporate governance, sustainability, compliance, and development finance. She has served on 13 boards—including six listed companies—and acted as a nominee director on behalf of IFC in three of them. Elif is the Founder and Managing Director of Kybele Consulting Ltd., advising investors, boards, and family businesses in emerging markets on governance, sustainability, and strategic transformation.
She began her career as a corporate lawyer at leading international law firms and later served as General Counsel of Turkcell, where she led the company’s NYSE governance preparations and developed its first corporate governance framework. Elif then co-founded Türkiye’s first clean energy-focused private equity fund and played a pioneering role in liberalising the national directory services sector by co-founding BN Telekom (11880).
She currently serves as a board member at Gama Enerji and AtlantaSanad, contributing to board effectiveness, ESG strategy, and digital transformation. Elif is a Qualified Risk Director (QRD), awarded by the DCRO Institute for her commitment to effective risk governance at board level. She is also a licensed facilitator for IFC’s Inclusive Leadership for Company Sustainability program, a member of the Istanbul Bar Association, and a board member of the 30% Club Türkiye Chapter. She is fluent in Turkish, English, and French, and resides in Surrey, UK.
