AG Anadolu Grubu Holding AŞ (Anadolu Group) has more than 80,000 employees working in approximately 80 group companies operating in 19 countries across a variety of sectors (eg, beer, soft drink, retail, agriculture, automotive, energy, fast food and stationery). These include Anadolu Efes, the fifth-largest brewery in Europe and 11th in the world, and Migros, one of Türkiye’s largest supermarket chains, as well as Coca-Cola’s Turkish operations.
What was it that made you want to become a lawyer?
MY: I would say ‘fate’. [Laughing.] Before I decided to go to law school, I was in fact preparing for the exams for medical school. However, at that time I was a scholarship student and mistakenly believed my scholarship would not be sufficient for the whole six years of the medical school. So I looked at other options. At that time, law school was considered to be a prestigious field of study and Ankara University Faculty of law was particularly highly regarded. So I decided to use my scholarship there and graduated from its Law School in 1994.
And, all things considered, I am pleased about having been mistaken about the scope of my scholarship. I can say now, after more than 25 years of practice, that I was born to be a lawyer and I thank God for having chosen to go to Law School so many years ago.
You also completed a Sports Law Program at Kadir Has University Faculty of Law in 2010. Can you talk to us about your experience back then and what made you decide on sports law?
MY: As you may know, Anadolu Efes Sports Club, a pioneer in Turkish basketball and an important basketball training ground for Turkish youth and professional athletes, is precious for Anadolu Group. We, in the legal department of Anadolu Holding, monitor, have knowledge and provide legal advice about every aspect of the Club’s business, including sponsorship agreements, Euroleague contracts and a variety of administrative issues. I concluded it would beneficial for me, and thus the department, to have a deeper understanding of Turkish sports law so we would be more effective in the work we do for the Club. The sports law programme at Kadir Has University has a strong curriculum and highly-regarded instructors, so I decided to enrol in its programme and successfully completed it back in 2010.
You started your career at Anadolu Group way back in 1997 as a lawyer at Efes Beverage Group. Can you still recall your very first day at Anadolu Group? What experiences do you remember?
MY: I cannot fully recall my first day at the office, but I do remember that when I learned that I got the job, I was so overwhelmed with happiness and excitement I forgot to take a cab home, walked for several minutes and then called my wife to give her the good news.
Was there a particular reason you chose the path of being a lawyer for a corporate rather than a law firm?
MY: There was no particular reason for choosing not to work in a law firm. I simply believed working as an in-house counsel would provide a more balanced life between home and the office. While theoretically true, I found my work for Anadolu Group, with its many group companies and growing foreign operations, quite demanding but, more importantly, both intellectually challenging and stimulating.
I’m not sure, in retrospect, whether I have had a better work-life balance than I would have had I worked at a law firm, but I also have no regrets. My career at Anadolu Group has been, and continues to be, extremely rewarding. Most importantly, and unlike many lawyers working in law firms, I have the opportunity to consider the broader context within which the legal advice our department gives is used, and how it melds with the broader business goals of the Group. The risk-benefit analysis we engage in is different than what one finds at a law firm; it’s more three-dimensional – more, I think I can say, like life. Sure, we need, and want, to know all the legal risks any particular strategy may entail, as do the other folks at Anadolu Group with whom our department works. But eliminating all legal risk is often incompatible with our company’s fairly aggressive growth strategy, whether here in Türkiye or abroad. And that strategy has, overall, been remarkably successful, with Anadolu Group, notwithstanding the many challenges companies working in this part of the world face, having faired quite well over the past several turbulent years.
Before becoming president of legal affairs, you held the roles of lawyer, legal affairs manager, legal affairs assistant coordinator and legal affairs coordinator. How diverse were each of these roles? Did any of these roles stand out for you personally?
MY: It’s been 25 years since I joined Anadolu Group. When I look back, I divide my time here into three distinct periods. In order to clarify the diversity you mentioned I need to divide these 25 years into three parts. During my first seven years, I learned and gained invaluable experience with regard to a tremendous range of legal issues. At the same time, I observed and adapted myself to corporate life. During my second seven years, however, I was more focused on implementing what I had learned during the first seven years, while of course assuming more responsibility in projects and improving my leadership skills.
During the last period I would say I had, and have, fully hit my stride, as by then I had gained the necessary experience and other management skills to play a key role in fashioning and implementing Anadolu Group’s legal strategy across all of its businesses, including both their local and foreign operations. I would also like to add that all of the positions I have held, to a significant degree, have involved similar work and, indeed, responsibilities. But with each step forward I was further developing my knowledge and skills, both as a lawyer and a manager, so that more recently I have been able to confidently set legal strategies for those working with me while taking into account the business needs of others at Anadolu Group who look to us for legal advice and direction.
Since becoming the president of legal affairs in 2018, you have overseen a number of challenges – a global pandemic, the highest inflation in Türkiye for over 20 years and the continual slide of the Turkish lira. As part of the response, you will inevitably have faced some difficult decisions. How did prepare and deal with such crisis management situations?
MY: I want to first observe that my country has been face with many challenges over the years, including well before the recent ones you mention. So, we here in Türkiye have had a lot of practice with crisis management.
Generally speaking, we have learned over the years such critical challenges cannot be handled individually, and require an experienced, high-quality team like the one we have here at Anadolu Group. Regardless of the crisis in question, such events can only be managed with a common mind and the cooperation of individuals throughout the organisation. Anadolu Group operates in different fields and each sector has its own risk dynamics. In my personal opinion, a qualified legal team should always be aware of the dynamics of the sector in question and observe the developments in that sector very closely in order to be able to identify the risks to which the company may be exposed, so as to minimise its adverse effects to the extent possible.
I note here that the group company structure is often criticised in classic economic theory. But given the somewhat boom or bust nature of economies in this part of the world, a company organised like Anadolu Group, which operates in a variety of sectors both locally and abroad, is particularly well suited for Türkiye and, indeed, the region. So, for example, our group companies with operations abroad were partly shielded from the fall in value of the Turkish Lira. A similar phenomenon exists when it comes to inflation, as almost without exception inflation rates have been lower these past few years in the other countries in which we operate. As a result, in addition to the natural hedge provided by having both local and foreign operations, we found we were able, to a certain extent, shift some of our production abroad to avoid the increased costs of such activity here.
It is noteworthy, during Covid, that we here in legal coordinated, reviewed, observed, gave input and made recommendations with respect to the precautions, regulations and decisions imposed by governmental authorities in quite short order. We saved the company and our employees a lot of unnecessary pain and financial loss.
The success management of a crisis depends on getting the balance right with better decisions taken when all views are heard. From your experience, how important is it for any organisation to have a lawyer on its crisis management team?
MY: Since each and every crisis bears its own legal risks, it is inevitable. In my view, hearing the view of a lawyer would allow the crisis management team to understand and be aware of the legal risks of the situation beforehand, and carry out its evaluation properly.
Can you also give our readers an overview of Anadolu Group’s sustainability-oriented future vision?
MY: Anadolu Group gives high importance to investing in the future and sustainability. We put the utmost effort to integrate sustainability into our works and operations. I need to mention our holding company, and our group companies Anadolu Efes, Coca-Cola İçecek, and Migros, are listed in the Borsa Istanbul Sustainability Index.
With both corporate legal teams and law firms (locally and internationally) valuing diversity, what is your approach to the importance of women in legal groups?
MY: We find it crucial to provide equal opportunities and increase the number of our women lawyers. I am pleased to say that currently, women hold the majority of the positions in our in-house legal teams.
Where do you see the Turkish legal business market over the next 12 to 24 months? Are there any specific areas you expect to see growth?
MY: Taking into consideration the post-pandemic economic situation both globally and locally, I think that the current pace of M&A transactions in Türkiye will either remain the same or slow down a little bit over the next 12 to 24 months. That said, there are a lot of under-priced assets in Türkiye, with their number likely to increase as companies are forced to further cut costs or even close their doors. Because of this, however, I am expecting a modest to fairly robust surge in investment in Türkiye, both by local and foreign investors, sometime in the not-too-distant future. With this in mind, we here at Anadolu Group are keeping a close eye on opportunities to further diversify our company portfolio, whether alone or in cooperation with foreign investors.
At the same time we are in the midst of a surge in litigation, including a lot of litigation between business partners whose projects have suffered during the recent economic challenges, challenges that have only been exacerbated more recently by the unexpected rise in energy and other costs associated with Russia’s military operations in Ukraine. I don’t see this surge in disputes moderating anytime soon, and certainly not during the following 12 to 24 months.
Which people have inspired you the most?
MY: I am passionate about world history, especially about historic figures who were, figuratively speaking, game changers. However, the most inspirational person to me is, without a doubt, our own Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. He fought, led and won an independence battle against, it can fairly be said, all odds, and created a reputable, independent country out of the ashes of an old empire. He was a real game changer not only for his contemporaries but has continued to be an inspiration for the generations of Turkish people who have followed. I try to reflect Atatürk’s way of thinking into my professional life to overcome the difficulties and to be a game changer myself.
In your career so far what achievement are you most proud of?
MY: After assuming the role of president of legal affairs, I pitched for the creation of a ‘One Team’ approach for the lawyers in our department and the lawyers working in each of the Anadolu Group companies. We organised regular lunch meetings with the heads of legal in our group companies, and we created small working groups focused on particularly important legal issues, such as those related to competition, capital markets and data protection. The resulting interconnectivity of all of our lawyers has resulted in a more efficient, effective and powerful work environment across the company. I am very happy to see that my ‘One Team’ approach has been working out very well for Anadolu Group.
From a purely nitty-gritty, hands-on lawyering angle, however, I am also quite proud of the work we all did on the merger of the Yazıcı and Özilhan family-owned holding companies making up Anadolu Group back in December 2017, which we now call the ‘Big Merger’. With the Big Merger, Anadolu Group was consolidated under the roof of AG Anadolu Grubu Holding AŞ, as a publicly-traded company with an ‘equal representation – equal governance’ principle for the Yazıcı and Özilhan families. I took part in every facet of Big Merger, from drafting the main agreements to obtaining the necessary administrative authorisations. I believe that, in terms of corporate and family governance, the Big Merger provided Anadolu Group with a gateway into the future.
When you look back at your career and the knowledge you have gained, what advice would you give to law graduates who are about to enter the legal industry?
MY: It has been 27 years since I began my practice as a lawyer, and the world and technology has changed at an incredible pace. Nevertheless, I firmly believe the most important characteristics required by our profession remain the same: Integrity, sharpness of mind, passion, hard work and honesty.
I tell my daughter – who I am proud to say has chosen the same profession as her dad – that if you really love your job, and work on maintaining and developing these characteristics, I believe that success, and a satisfying career, are all but guaranteed.
Mustafa Yelligedik, legal affairs president, AG Anadolu Grubu Holding
Fatih Sultan Mehmet Mahallesi, Balkan Caddesi No. 58 Buyaka E Blok Tepeüstü, Ümraniye, 34771 İstanbul, TÜRKİYE
E: mustafa.yelligedik@anadolugrubu.com.tr
T: +90 216 578 86 13
