24/11/2025
Güler Sabancı, Founding Chair of the Board of Trustees of Sabancı University, met with the university's graduate students. Güler Sabancı emphasized her strong ties to the university at the meeting led by Dr. Yusuf Soner, who teaches Managerial Skills Development, and Dr. Şule Yalçın, who teaches Personal Branding at Sabancı Business School's Professional Graduate Programs.
At the meeting, held on Sabancı University's Digital Campus in Altunizade and strongly attended by graduate students, Güler Sabancı emphasized the importance of lifelong learning.
"Being at Sabancı University means a lot to me."
At the beginning of her speech, Güler Sabancı emphasized the "very valuable and profound" place Sabancı University holds in her life, stating that returning to education after gaining experience in business was a significant gain in terms of personal development.
She explained the essence of executive education programs with these words: "It's incredibly valuable to re-evaluate the experiences gained in the business world in an academic setting after a while. Being able to look at what you've learned in business from a broader perspective, from an academic perspective, makes a significant difference."
Building Trust-Based Connections and Branding
Sabancı cited examples from Sabancı University faculty members who moved from professional life to academia, advising young participants to be open to different options in their career paths.
Referring to personal branding courses, Güler Sabancı emphasized that her lifelong focus has always been on corporate branding. She stated that true value lies in organizations creating sustainable, shared, and strong brand identities, rather than individual brands. Emphasizing that this trust-based approach is a team effort, Sabancı said, "What matters is your contribution to the brand." She summarized the purpose of her speech as supporting students in developing their management skills through their own experiences and acquiring perspectives that will strengthen their institutions' brand value.
"Leadership is a skill that can be acquired and developed!"
In her speech, which was followed with great interest by graduate students, Güler Sabancı emphasized that leadership is a skill that can be developed, stating that the founding of Sabancı University had taught her the skills of "listening more, stepping back when necessary, and waiting for discussions to mature." She also advised the students who listened to her to seek frequent feedback and attach importance to 360-degree assessments.
In one of the most heartfelt sections of her speech, Güler Sabancı recounted a conversation she had with her mother from her childhood: "She never asked me, 'What do you want to be?' She always asked, 'What do you want to do?' For me, the answer to the question, 'What do you want to do?' has always been to make an impact, be useful, and contribute."
Güler Sabancı, whose speech was followed with great interest, recommended John Doerr's "Measure What Matters," Carol S. Dweck's "Becoming is Better than Being," and Hans Rosling's "Factfulness." Sabancı answered questions and posed for photos with the students. She also signed copies of her book, "While Creating a University," which recounts the founding story of Sabancı University.
