Istanbul, Türkiye
I design, build, and operate things. After working across consumer products, food, hospitality, construction, and international projects, I’ve come to believe that businesses are far more alike than they are different. The tools change. The fundamentals rarely do. My work has ranged from the Formula 1 Istanbul Park project and large-scale residential developments to restaurants, boutique hospitality, and consumer products. Most recently, that has meant building Retaste FoodTech: developing functional food products, creating consumer brands, establishing supply chains, and operating a business between Türkiye and the United States. I enjoy projects that require structure, momentum, and execution. Whether the challenge is a hotel, a restaurant, a product, a construction project, or a new venture, the objective is usually the same: create value, solve problems, and make things work. Dual citizen (Portugal & Türkiye). Authorized to work throughout the EU.
Founded and developed a consumer food business focused on innovative, value-added functional food products for international markets. • Developed multiple functional food products from concept through formulation, ingredient selection, packaging development, manufacturing planning, regulatory review, and commercialization. • Established scientific and industry collaborations supporting product development, validation, regulatory compliance, and commercialization activities. • Introduced products to the U.S. market and leveraged Amazon as a commercial platform to evaluate consumer response, purchasing behavior, and product performance. • Analyzed customer feedback and purchasing data to guide product development, positioning, and commercialization decisions. • Achieved strong consumer acceptance, with 65% of total sales generated by returning customers, creating a loyal repeat-purchase customer base. • Built supplier, manufacturing, logistics, and operational networks across Türkiye and the United States. • Coordinated cross-border activities involving manufacturers, consultants, logistics providers, regulatory advisors, and commercial partners. • Led activities across product development, sourcing, supply chain management, branding, commercialization, and business operations.
Held full operational and commercial responsibility for Miamai Luxury Boutique Hotel in Bozburun, driving initiatives to improve guest experience, strengthen commercial performance, and increase profitability. • Directed all hotel operations, including accommodation, food & beverage, procurement, pricing, distribution, and financial performance. • Recruited, trained, and led cross-functional teams across front office, housekeeping, food & beverage, and support functions. • Redesigned and expanded restaurant and bar operations, transforming food & beverage into a significant contributor to both guest experience and business performance. • Improved operational efficiency and procurement practices, substantially reducing food & beverage costs while increasing revenues. • Strengthened commercial performance by increasing repeat visitation, improving occupancy levels, and expanding revenue streams beyond room sales. • Led pricing, revenue-generation, and profitability initiatives within a highly seasonal business operating under fixed-capacity constraints.
Assumed full operational and commercial responsibility for a luxury boutique hotel, leading initiatives to improve guest experience, strengthen food & beverage performance, and increase overall profitability.
Conceived, developed, launched, and operated an innovative fast-casual restaurant concept that transformed traditional regional cuisine into a scalable and commercially viable business model. • Led the venture from initial concept through business planning, menu development, kitchen design, operational setup, licensing, recruitment, launch, and ongoing management. • Built the business from the ground up, establishing sourcing, production, service, staffing, procurement, and operational systems from scratch. • Reimagined traditional regional dishes for fast-casual service by developing standardized recipes, production systems, and operating procedures that balanced authenticity, consistency, speed, and profitability. • Designed food production workflows, kitchen operations, and service standards to support scalability and operational efficiency. • Directed menu development, recipe standardization, portion control, food-cost optimization, and quality management initiatives. • Managed supplier selection, ingredient sourcing, procurement, purchasing, inventory control, and vendor relationships. • Oversaw all day-to-day business operations, including staffing, customer experience, financial performance, and continuous operational improvement initiatives. • Recruited, trained, and supervised kitchen, service, and support teams from launch through ongoing operations.
Conceived, developed, launched, and operated an innovative fast-casual restaurant concept that transformed traditional regional cuisine into a scalable and commercially viable business model.