Hi.
I'm Murat Gollu.
“Your father’s word is his bond.”
As a child, I spent countless hours working at my father’s business. His peers and customers would often mention this phrase to me, and I remember how clearly it captured the concepts of trust and reputation. To this day, I hold these six words in the highest regard, serving as my foundation in both my personal and professional life.
Engineering years...
After graduating METU with a degree in engineering, I was fortunate to hold the position of Technical Office Engineer in charge of building a prominent hotel for the Gazprom Corporation. My journey then took me to Siemens where I worked in the fields of supply chain and e-business. During my time at Siemens, I simultaneously pursued my MBA from Yeditepe University, located in Istanbul, Turkey.
The magical world of marketing
My career in the magical world of marketing began when I took the position of Sales and Marketing Director of AkInternet (pratis.net), a subsidiary of Sabanci Holding. As an early adopter of technology myself, the role was perfect as for me as AkInternet was one of the first B2B e-commerce companies launched in Turkey in the early 2000’s.
Brand, advertising, and communications
Marka, reklam ve iletişim alanındaki en değerli tecrübelerimi ise bugün 75. yaşını kutlayan, Türkiye’nin önde gelen bankalarından Akbank’ta kazandım.
Kurumsal İletişim Bölüm Başkanı olarak 16 yıl boyunca bankanın ana markası olan Akbank’ı, kredi kartları markası Axess’i; Akbank Private Banking ve Akbank Sanat gibi alt markalarını ve yine bu süreçte yarattığımız Wings gibi Tosla ve Juzdan gibi müthiş markaları ve bu markaların itibarını yöneten çok güçlü bir ekibe liderlik ettim.
The best ones...
The time spent at Akbank afforded me the opportunity to work with leading advertising and communications agencies such as Yorum Publicis, Rafineri, TBWA, Medicom, Allmedia, Medyaevi, Imaj, PrCO, and the world's foremost brand agencies including 8inc, R/GA, Pentagram, and Saffron.
Turkey's Most Valuable Brand: Akbank
Together, my team, our agencies, and I carried out dozens of national and international award-winning advertising campaigns, public relations activities, volunteering activities, and social impact projects. Perhaps most impressively, Akbank became “Turkey's Most Valuable Bank Brand” seven years in a row and “Turkey's Most Valuable Brand” in 2015 by Brand Finance, an international brand valuation firm.
It takes time, effort, and dedication to build a brand’s reputation – and only minutes to destroy it without proper crisis management. This is why I founded BReady in 2022. To help companies and their leaders protect their business and brand’s reputation from mismanaged crises.
Real crises often come without warning. However, if an organization and its leaders are not sufficiently prepared and lacks the right tools, their business, brands, and reputations can suffer irreparable harm. In some cases, the negative impacts can become so severe, some businesses never recover.
To prepare for the unexpected, BReady offers the industry's most effective crisis management and communication strategies, ensuring brands and their leaders are ready for the most harrowing moments of their lives.
Life, of course, is not just about work...
Since 2015, my wife and I have owned a pomegranate orchard in Dalyan Eskiköy. Growing from 300 trees to over 2,500, we are working to make our farm an example of sustainability with a touch of modest idealism.
Our work together gave us the opportunity to directly experience the concept of sustainability, often only learned through books and seminars, but not first-hand. After all these years, I can honestly say farming is certainly not the romantic endeavor many in the corporate world yearn for. The most beneficial understanding we gained from this difficult journey is: farming is exceptionally challenging, undeniably valuable, and deserving of significantly more respect than given by most individuals.
Goodness...
Goodness...
“The Good Shape of the City”
“Akbank Volunteers ”
But humbly, I am most proud of my work in pursuing "goodness."
“Akbank Volunteers ”
“The Good Shape of the City”
“Akbank Volunteers ”
I have been fortunate to bring to life the Akbank Volunteers program with my team at Akbank.
“The Good Shape of the City”
“The Good Shape of the City”
“The Good Shape of the City”
Conceptualize and start “The Good Shape of the City” university project, which encourages students to volunteer.
"Istanbul Marathon"
Dalyan Eskiköy Primary School
Dalyan Eskiköy Primary School
Today, I continue to participate and support the Istanbul Marathon for fund raises for
Dalyan Eskiköy Primary School
Dalyan Eskiköy Primary School
Dalyan Eskiköy Primary School
I continue my work creating resources for Volkan - the idealist and visionary principal of the 160-student Dalyan Eskiköy Primary School to support his projects and establish a kindergarten, a science laboratory, and mathematics studio.
“TOG ”
Dalyan Eskiköy Primary School
“TOG ”
And lastly, I share my experiences with dozens of young members of the Community Volunteers Foundation to develop their own resources and improve their communication skills for their local projects.