ASELSAN CEO and Top Management
ASELSAN’s CEO (General Manager) is Ahmet Akyol, who has held the role since June 2023 as the company’s most senior executive. The Chairman of the Board is Ibrahim Ozkol. At ASELSAN the two roles are now separated: strategic direction sits with the board, while day-to-day execution runs through the CEO’s office. This split reflects the corporate-governance framework of a publicly listed joint-stock company whose controlling shareholder is the Turkish Armed Forces Foundation (TSKGV) and whose shares trade on Borsa Istanbul under the ticker ASELS.
Who is the CEO of ASELSAN?
The CEO leads ASELSAN’s daily operations across its five business sectors: communications and information technologies; microelectronics, guidance and electro-optics; radar and electronic warfare; defence system technologies; and transportation, security, energy, automation and health. Coordinating production, R&D and the company’s fast-growing export targets falls under this office.
Before Ahmet Akyol, the CEO position was held by Prof. Dr. Haluk Gorgun, who later became head of the Presidency of Defence Industries (SSB), Turkey’s main defence procurement and coordination body. That move is telling: managers trained inside ASELSAN often go on to lead the sector’s regulatory institutions.
Chairman and the division of duties
ASELSAN’s Chairman is Ibrahim Ozkol. The board sets long-term strategy, investment decisions and overall policy, while the CEO’s office turns those plans into results on the ground. In earlier periods a single person sometimes served as both chairman and CEO; today the roles are held separately, drawing a cleaner line between oversight and execution.
ASELSAN’s top-management structure
Below the CEO sit deputy general managers and sector presidencies, each responsible for a specific business area or function. This layered structure keeps a company that ranges from radar systems to air-defence electronics, and from communications to civil technologies, manageable. The table below summarises the top leadership.
| Role | Name / Note |
|---|---|
| Chairman of the Board | Ibrahim Ozkol |
| CEO / General Manager | Ahmet Akyol (since June 2023) |
| Previous CEO | Prof. Dr. Haluk Gorgun (later SSB President) |
| Controlling shareholder | Turkish Armed Forces Foundation (TSKGV, ~74.2%) |
| Free float | ~25.8% (Borsa Istanbul, ASELS) |
| Lower tiers | Sector presidencies and deputy general managers |
How leadership changes affect the company
In a defence-electronics group of ASELSAN’s scale, leadership transitions are managed without disrupting institutional continuity. The company reached roughly TL 180 billion in revenue in 2025 and an order backlog above USD 20 billion, showing that the strategy of expanding exports and entering new markets has continued under current management. Through long-term goals such as “AselsanXT2030,” the leadership aims to place ASELSAN among the world’s top 30 defence companies by 2030.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the CEO of ASELSAN?
ASELSAN’s CEO is Ahmet Akyol, who has held the role since June 2023.
Who is the Chairman of ASELSAN?
The Chairman of the Board is Ibrahim Ozkol. The chairman and CEO roles are held by different people.
Who was the previous CEO of ASELSAN?
The previous CEO was Prof. Dr. Haluk Gorgun, who later became President of the SSB.
Is ASELSAN run by the government?
No. ASELSAN is a publicly listed joint-stock company whose controlling shareholder is a foundation (TSKGV, ~74.2%), with shares trading on Borsa Istanbul.
What is the difference between the CEO and the Chairman?
The Chairman leads the board that sets strategy; the CEO is the top executive who implements that strategy day to day.
Sources
- ASELSAN — Corporate / Management and Investor Relations pages (accessed July 2026).
- ASELSAN 2025 Annual Report and year-end results announcements.
- Presidency of Defence Industries (SSB) corporate announcements.
