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Alumni Achievements: Hilal Aytemiz
A 50-Year Old Family-Business Enters the 21st Century
Hilal Aytemiz, who received her MBA from Fordham in 2000, was born and raised in Ankara, Turkey. That's also where she completed her undergraduate studies. Shortly after receiving a degree from Bilkent University, however, she thought she'd shake things up a bit. Shortly after graduating from Bilkent, she thought she’d shake things up a bit. She decided to travel over 2,000 miles to New York City for her MBA, where she was the youngest student in the program. Hilal received a Global Professional MBA (GPMBA) degree with a dual concentration in Finance and Information Systems. At the same time, she worked as a Graduate Assistant for Information Systems Professor Greg Elofson and as an intern in Merrill Lynch’s Private Client Group.
Following post-graduation positions at an internet start-up and Salomon Smith Barney, Hilal returned home to join her family’s company, Aytemizler Textiles and Trades Co. Ltd. She had always known that the education and experience she received in NYC would be put to use back at home – and she knew she had a long-standing family legacy to uphold at Aytemizler.
Aytemizler Textiles and Trades Co. Ltd. was launched by Hilal’s grandfather, who had been a jeweler. In 1957, he took a business risk – something that clearly runs in the family - and moved into a brand new industry. He and his wife became distributors of Mobil Oil lubricant oil (Aytemizler is still the main lubricant oil distributor for Shell in Turkey).
In 1975, Hilal’s father and her uncles joined the business and launched a new division. This group produces and sells accommodation containers, prefabricated buildings, hangars, storage containers, generator containers, and GSM shelters. The factory has the capacity to process over 10,000 tons of steel per year, and products are exported to Europe and overseas. In 1984, the family expanded again by building a new plant and entering the textiles industry. They now produce seamless knitwear products that are exported to the US and Europe. Today, Hilal, her brother and her two cousins are active members of the family business.
One of the most impressive changes that Aytemizler is known for is its “deep and permanent respect for the environment.” Hilal says, “We take a long-term view of continuous improvement and a responsible, short-term focus on our day-to-day activities.” Aytemizler’s strategy is focused on constantly improving waste management, as well as packaging and recycling in the plant. The company provides water and energy recycling services and regains 88 percent of the water they use in production. They have invested in ecological production and use organic raw materials in a continual effort to reduce their production’s impact on the world around them. In addition, the company has a longstanding and ongoing commitment to the health and safety of their employees, customers, suppliers, and partners. In return, the employees take an active role in protecting the environment. Employees – as well as customers and suppliers – are encouraged to plant trees in the factory’s green area to symbolize mutual long-term partnership.
Hilal emphasizes how important her Fordham MBA and NY experiences are to her current success at Aytemizler. She says the MBA broadened her understanding of the business world and gave her a “problem solving toolkit that has helped (her) adapt to the rapidly changing work requirements of the family business.” The Fordham MBA “was an excellent experience, not only for relating theory to practice but also in developing the practical skills I use today, such as managing projects, teamwork, international negotiations, presenting and leading discussions, and persuading people,” Hilal says.
While she is not on the financial side of Aytemizler – she is in production and “likes it more than finance,” Hilal also speaks glowingly about all she learned at Solomon Smith Barney and Merrill Lynch. At Merrill Lynch, she identified new clients and introduced them to financial products, which meant dealing daily with a variety of different businesses in different sectors. Those sales skills she now applies in moving Aytemizler products. Merrill Lynch “equipped me with the leadership and problem-solving skills to really drive myself and the business forward,” she says.
Both organizations taught her to work under tight timeframes and on a team, as well as to find the best way to communicate with different people and cultures. Aytemizler receives its raw materials from Europe and exports its goods to Europe and the US, so today, Hilal finds herself in the US, UK, Germany and Italy quite frequently. She is grateful for the cross-cultural experience she received at Solomon Smith Barney and Merrill Lynch – as well as through the GPMBA program.
“I regularly use the knowledge I gained during my MBA,” Hilal says. “I found it very rewarding and learned as much from my classmates as from my teachers. School was dynamic, rewarding and challenging - as you'd expect. The projects at Fordham also helped me to develop my soft skills - networking, communication, and presentations - which I use all the time in our business.” Equipped with her experience in New York and her inherited risk-taking, Hilal is always looking for ways to improve Aytemizler. She is always willing to share her experiences and knowledge with fellow Fordham MBA alums.
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