"THE PATH TO A HAPPY LIFE AND ABSOLUTE SUCCESS IS BY LOVING YOUR JOB"

"THE PATH TO A HAPPY LIFE AND ABSOLUTE SUCCESS IS BY LOVING YOUR JOB"

• 30.04.2018

Ulusoy Un President of the Board, Eren Günhan Ulusoy, who is shown among Turkey's “40 managers under the age of 40”, told Bosslife magazine about his goals and secrets of success.

Recently, the winds of change have been blowing in Turkey's well-established companies. With the second and third generation representatives sitting on the chairmanship of the board of directors, companies entered a serious institutionalization and branding process. One of the companies that carried out this process most successfully was the Samsun-based Ulusoy Un company. With the second generation 36-year-old Eren Günhan Ulusoy as the President of the Board of directors, the company increased its turnover 16 times in 10 years. A flour company was listed on the stock exchange for the first time in Turkey. His success represents a growth story that will set an example for all family businesses in Anatolia. Eren Günhan Ulusoy, President of the Board of Ulusoy Un, who carries his success in business life to his marriage life, answered many questions for Bosslife readers, from the secrets of success in business life to his private life.

You sat on the chairmanship of the board of directors at a very young age and today you are managing one of the few companies in Turkey. How did you achieve this success?

When I graduated from Boğaziçi University, Department of Business Administration in 2003, my plan was to continue my education abroad. I even received acceptance letters for an MBA program from one or two universities, such as Boston College, to which I applied. However, when I told my father about this plan, he said that he knew a better university and that it would be better for my business life if I completed my master's program at Ulusoy Un school first. Thus, I started to work in the export department of our company in July 2003. At the end of the last 5 years, in a sense, I graduated from the company's graduate program. My father also achieved his goal. Because I got to know and learned many departments. I was appointed to the position of general manager in 2008 and chairman of the executive board in 2010. In 2015, at the age of 34, I was elected President of the Board of directors.

What is your most important goal as the second generation? What are the challenges of being a second generation?

Our most important goal is to make our company a global player in its sector. To ensure the emergence of an effective agro-industry company in the global arena from an important agricultural country like Turkey. I can say that I am one of the second generation managers who felt the difficulties of being a second generation least thanks to the vision of my elders.

As the second generation, how will you prepare the third generation for work? Do you have a plan if they don't want to work in the family business?

We will definitely ensure that the third generation gains work experience outside of our company. As a family, we worked in the establishment and development phase of the company. At that time, this was a bit of a necessity. Now we are trying to complete the institutionalization phase. The most important step we took in this regard was that we made the company public in 2014. Currently, there is no family member other than me in the management of the company.

As the representative of the new generation, are there any differences in the approach to work between you and the previous generation?

We need to adopt different elements in many areas of life such as new trends, new understandings, new practices. The ideas adopted by the previous generation on issues such as our approach to work and our colleagues, leadership understanding, habits and behaviors may differ from those of our generation, and the next generation will be a part of the change to be experienced in these phenomena.

In addition to your chairmanship of the board of directors, you are also the chairman of a powerful NGO such as the Turkish Flour Industrialists' Federation. How do you spend time for yourself and your family in your busy schedule?

As of last year, I had a daughter named "Nilhan". In the remaining time from my busy schedule, I try to spend most of the time with my wife and daughter. We go on domestic and international trips as a family. I do sports as much as possible in order to stay healthy in this intense pace. I take care to swim at least 3 times My waterproof earphones are indispensable in my travel bag.

What would be your advice to young people who are going to start business for the first time?

If our young friends, like me, believe that the way to a happy life is to love their job, they should determine their education, which is the beginning of their career goals, in this direction. They should also consider their own skills when choosing this path. Because the more they succeed, the more they will love, and the more they love, the better they will do this job.

This full interview was published in BossLife Magazine.