LEYLA ALATON
LEYLA ALATON
Alarko Holding BOD Member / Women's Rights Advocate VEW Mentor
Leyla Alaton was born as the first child of İshak Alaton ( one of the successful names of the business world and the founder of Alarko) was born in Istanbul and continued her education life with great care. After completing primary school at Şişli Terakki Primary School, she successfully completed her secondary education at Sainte-Pulchérie French Girls Secondary School and high school education at Notre Dame de Sion French High School. She continued her education in the USA and received a bachelor's degree in business administration from Fairleigh Dickinson University and a master's degree in social sciences from New York University. Leyla Alaton has started to deal with small-scale commercial businesses during her years of education in the USA, described this period with the words: "I did not realize my father's wealth and wide opportunities until I graduated from university; we always lived a modest life." Leyla Alaton's activities in the business world are quite diverse and she has played an active role in different sectors such as health, medical devices, energy, tourism, land development, industry, trade and contracting. She served as a Member of the Board of Directors of Alarko Group of Companies, and was also the President of Alvimedica and the founder of Megatrend Public Relations Consultancy. Leyla Alaton has achieved many successes throughout her career, was selected as "Business Woman of the Year" by the Turkish National Productivity Center in 1992 and was recognized as "Global Leader of Tomorrow" at the Davos World Economic Forum in 1993. She was also awarded the Légion d'Honneur, one of France's most prestigious medal for merit, in 2014 for her contributions to Turkish-French relations. Leyla Alaton has played an influential role not only in the business world but also in the field of social responsibility. She made great contributions to her country as one of the founders of organizations such as the Young Managers and Businessmen Association (GYİAD) and the Turkish Women Entrepreneurs Association (KAGİDER). She took part in important platforms such as Museum, NY, Make a Wish and Young Presidents Organization (YPO). Leyla Alaton, also known as a women's rights advocate, has gained great appreciation for her work in this field and has taken part in the advisory boards of educational institutions and art associations.