In the most dramatic leadership overhaul at the armed forces pension fund since the 2016 coup attempt, retired Lt. Gen. Zekai Aksakallı—a key figure in thwarting the coup—has been named chairman of the giant fund.
The fund, known as OYAK, announced the surprise changes just two months after its general assembly on May 17. The fund has assets of around 30 billion USD.
Aksakallı replaces retired Maj. Gen. Mehmet Taş, who had served as chairman since 2016. Murat Yalçıntaş was appointed General Manager, succeeding Süleyman Savaş Erdem, also in the role since 2016.
Aksakallı rose to prominence as Special Forces Commander during the failed July 15, 2016 coup attempt. Hailed as a hero by the government and promoted soon after, he was placed on inactive duty three years later and formally retired in 2020.
Yalçıntaş, a mechanical engineering graduate from Boğaziçi University, previously served as president of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (İTO), CEO of BMC Automotive, and a board member of the domestic car project TOGG. His father, former AKP deputy Nevzat Yalçıntaş, was once a mentor to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during their time at the National Student Union.
“Given that OYAK’s top management is largely determined by the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff, some interpret Aksakallı’s appointment as a maneuver by Defense Minister Yaşar Güler against his predecessor Hulusi Akar—rumored to be seeking a return to the ministry—while others see it as a restoration of Aksakallı’s reputation after five years,” journalist Müyesser Yıldız wrote in a column on the reshuffle.
Founded as a supplementary pension fund for military personnel, OYAK provides retirement, death, and disability benefits. It operates in Turkey and across 20 countries on six continents, overseeing more than 130 companies across industries ranging from mining and metallurgy to automotive, logistics, energy, and finance. The group employs more than 38,000 people.
