Muharrem Kayhan received education at St. Joseph French School and Robert College of İstanbul. He got his Engineering Degree in Textiles in 1976 from the University of Manchester in England. He received his MBA from Cornell University in 1978. Muharrem Kayhan is presently Vice Chairman of the boards of Söktaş and its subsidiaries. He has represented the interests of the Turkish textile industry in various European Union platforms while serving on the boards of the Aegean Chamber of Industry, the Exporters’ Union, and the Turkish Textile Employers’ Union. He served as the Chairman of TÜSİAD between 1997 and 1999, and is now an Honorary Chairman. Muharrem Kayhan serves on the Board of Trustees of Robert College the İzmir Culture, Art and Education Foundation, and Bizim Okul Foundation. He has represented Spain as Honorary Consul in İzmir since 2003. He is the recipient of the Turkish National Assembly Distinguished Service Award (2009). He served as Independent Member of the Board of Directors at Koç Holding and Tüpraş A.Ş. Ancient history and numismatics are among his areas of interest.

Professor M. M. Gülay Barbarosoğlu graduated from Robert College in 1974. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Engineering in 1978 and her PhD in the same department at Boğaziçi University in 1985, before she became Professor of Industrial Engineering in 2000. She designed and delivered lectures on mathematical programming and optimization, logistic, operation and production planning, and decision-making theories.

Prof. M. M. Gülay Barbarosoğlu acted as Rector at Boğaziçi University from 2012 to 2016, and Vice Rector Responsible for Research at Boğaziçi University from 2008 to 2012. She took on various administrative roles at Boğaziçi University. Between 2002 and 2006, she worked as the Manager of Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute (KRDAE), as the Manager of Center of Disaster Management (CENDIM), and President of the Department of Industrial Engineering and Program of Financial Engineering.

Having taken on international duties, Prof. M. M. Gülay Barbarosoğlu acted as a Member of the Board of Directors at the European Universities Association between 2013 and 2017. During her duties as the Vice Chair of the Association of European Operational Research Societies (EURO) between 2003 and 2007, and the national representative at NATO Research and Technology Organization between 2002 and 2010, she worked in close collaboration with various European universities, governmental and nongovernmental organizations. Prof. Barbarosoğlu is a Founding Member of EURO Organizational Planning European Study Group and a Member of the Management Sciences Institute (INFORMS), American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS) and International Industrial Engineering and Production Management (IEPM). Attaching great importance to civil society activities, Prof. Barbarosoğlu actively worked to establish Neighborhood Disaster Volunteers (MAG), and she acted as a Member and Chair of the Board of Directors. Prof. M. M. Gülay Barbarosoğlu retired from Boğaziçi University in December 2016. She serves as Founding Representative at Hisar Education Foundation schools and as Board of Trustees Member at Özyeğin University.