Gaye Erkan, the new Governor of the Central Bank

By presidential decree, Hafize Gaye Erkan was appointed as the Governor of the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (TCMB). Thus, Erkan became the first female governor of the TCMB. After Mehmet Şimşek took over the management of the economy after a 5-year hiatus, the much-anticipated appointment to the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey was made. With the decision published in the Official Gazette, former First Republic Bank Co-CEO Hafize Gaye Erkan was appointed. Who is Hafize Gaye Erkan? Born in Istanbul in 1982, Erkan graduated from Istanbul Boys High School and then graduated from Boğaziçi University, Department of Industrial Engineering in 2001. Continuing her education in the USA, Erkan earned her doctorate in operations research and financial engineering from Princeton University in 2005. Erkan also completed two educational programs on management sciences at Harvard Business School and leadership at Stanford University. Erkan began his career at Goldman Sachs in 2005, and during his 9 years there, he provided consulting services to the boards of directors and senior management teams of large banks and insurance companies in the US on balance sheet management, stress testing and capital planning, risk management, and mergers and acquisitions. Erkan started working at First Republic Bank in 2014, and during his 8 years there, he served as co-chief executive officer (Co-CEO), president, board member, investment director, deposit director, and co-risk director. Erkan, who was a board member at US-based jewelry company Tiffany & Co for 2 years, joined the board of directors of Marsh McLennan, a Fortune 500 global financial advisory firm, in 2022. According to research by the San Francisco Business Times in 2018, Erkan was the only woman under the age of 40 to hold the title of president or CEO of one of America’s largest 100 banks. The same year, she was included in the San Francisco Business Times’ “40 Under 40 List” and Crain’s New York Business’ “40 Under 40 List.” In 2019, Erkan was also included in Crain’s “Important Women in Banking and Finance List” and American Banker’s “Women to Watch List.” Erkan, who has expertise in banking, investment, risk management, technology, and digital innovation, also serves on the Advisory Council of Princeton University’s Department of Operations Research and Financial Engineering. She had met with Şimşek Following the appointment of Mehmet Şimşek as Minister of Treasury and Finance in the new cabinet, expectations of normalization on the monetary policy side had revived. Mehmet Şimşek, who took over the post of Minister of Treasury and Finance from Nureddin Nebati on Sunday, had stated that “Turkey has no choice but to return to a rational basis.” Stating that “the government’s fundamental goal is to increase social welfare,” Şimşek said, “In the upcoming period, transparency, consistency, predictability and compliance with international norms will be our basic principles in achieving this goal.” Şimşek, who gave the message that they will start medium-term program work without wasting any time, said, “Establishing fiscal discipline and ensuring price stability for sustainable high growth will be our basic goal. In the medium term, reducing inflation to single-digit figures again, increasing predictability in all areas and accelerating the structural transformation that will reduce the current deficit are of vital importance for our country. Our fundamental policy will be to support our Central Bank in the fight against inflation with the fiscal policy and structural reforms to be implemented.” Şimşek met with former First Republic Bank Co-CEO Hafize Gaye Erkan, who is planned to be appointed as the head of the TCMB. According to Bloomberg, Erkan, who arrived in Ankara on Monday morning, was received by Şimşek.