Turkish businessman Abdullah Tivnikli dead at 59

RENOWNED Turkish businessman Abdullah Tivnikli, the chairman of the board of directors of Eksim Investment Holding, died Tuesday.

The 59-year-old businessman passed away in the hospital after an extended period of treatment, a statement by the holding said.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan extended his condolences to the Tivnikli family during his address to the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) parliamentary group meeting in Ankara yesterday.

Tivnikli was born in eastern Turkey’s Erzurum in 1959. He graduated from the Mechanical Engineering Department of Istanbul Technical University in 1981 and completed his MBA at the same university. He also studied the participation banking model in the U.K.

Beginning in 1983, Tivnikli took part in preparing Turkey’s legal infrastructure for the participation banking model, with the country’s switch to a liberal economy. He was later actively involved in the founding of Albaraka Türk Participation Bank, Turkey’s first bank within the participation banking model. Tivnikli, who made landmark contributions to developing Turkey’s participation banking infrastructure in his lifetime, was also the longtime vice chairman of the board of directors of Kuveyt Türk Participation Bank. In addition to his duties in the participation banking sector, Tivnikli also served as the managing director and later chairman of the board of Eksim Investment Holding - a 6,000-employee group with investments in the grain trade, energy, food and mining sectors.

Tivnikli was also a member of the board of directors and the executive committee of Türk Telekom and a member of the board of directors of internet service provider TTNET and cellphone operator formerly known as Avea.

The father-of-four was also known as a philanthropist, contributing to the construction of various mosques, schools and dormitories. He was among the founding members of the Istanbul Research and Education Foundation and the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA) and was a member of the board of trustees at the Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University.

Since 2005, Tivnikli was the honorary consul of Bahrain in Istanbul.