Güliz Öztürk made history in May 2022 when she became the first woman Chief Executive Officer of a leading airline in Turkey.She was the chief commercial officer (CCO) of Pegasus Airlines when she was appointed to succeed the airline’s CEO since 2016, Mehmet T. Nane, who was called to serve as Chair of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in June 2022.Nane said he’s delighted “to be passing the CEO baton to Güliz Öztürk who has made significant contributions to the growth and development of Pegasus for many years.” Öztürk has a Psychology degree from Boğaziçi University and completed Advanced Management Program at Columbia Business School. She began her career at Turkish Airlines in 1990 through 2003, serving various key management positions, including handling strategic projects such as the first code-share flights for Turkey’s national carrier, its first website, bank card programs, online ticket sales, among others. Between 2003 and 2005, Öztürk served as Aviation and Tourism Project Coordinator and Director of Human Resources at Ciner Holding. She joined Pegasus Airlines in 2005 as Head of Sales and  Marketing,  to  manage  the  launch  of  the  airline’s scheduled services. In 2010, she was appointed Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), with responsibility for the commercial department, which includes Sales, Network Planning, Marketing, Revenue Management and Pricing, Cargo, and Guest Experience. A member of the Board of Advisors of Özyeğin University’s Faculty of Aviation and Aeronautical Sciences, Öztürk is also co-chair of the Women in Sales (WiSN) social project, established in 2019 to promote gender balance in company sales departments, under the  umbrella of  the Sales  Network platform.