Driving scientific and translational excellence
Gökhan S. Hotamışlıgil, MD, PhD
Founder
Anthony Manning, Ph.D.
Chief Scientific Officer
Kubilay Aykol
Chairman of the Board
CEO, İş Private Equity
Burçe Kabatepe
CEO and Board Member
Chairman of the Board
CEO, İş Private Equity
Kubilay Aykol graduated from the Department of Business Administration at the Middle East Technical University Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences and began his professional career at Türkiye İş Bankası A.Ş. Throughout his banking career, he held various managerial positions, including Unit Manager in the Retail Banking Marketing Division, Head of the Retail Banking Products Division, and Head of the Retail Loans Division between 2018 and 2022.
Between 2010 and 2018, Mr. Aykol served as a Board Member of Anadolu Anonim Türk Sigorta Şirketi. He also served on the Board of Directors of Milli Reasürans Türk A.Ş. from 2018 to 2021, including as Vice Chairman of the Board between 2019 and 2021. In addition, he was a Board Member of Birleşik İpotek Finansmanı A.Ş. (Turkey’s Mortgage Securitization Company) from 2020 to 2022 and served as a Board Member of İş Gayrimenkul Yatırım Ortaklığı A.Ş. between 2021 and 2024.
On July 20, 2023, Mr. Aykol was appointed Chief Executive Officer of İş Girişim Sermayesi Yatırım Ortaklığı A.Ş. and currently serves as a Member of its Board of Directors. Besides Enlila, he also serves as Chairman of the Board of Ortopro Tıbbi Aletler Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş., Tatilbudur Seyahat Acenteliği ve Turizm A.Ş., and Agrinatura Gıda Üretim Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş.
Founder
Dr. Hotamışlıgil is the James S. Simmons Professor of Genetics & Metabolism, Director, Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention and Treatment (CAP-CVD), Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, Department of Molecular Metabolism . He is also an Assoc. Member of the Harvard-MIT Broad Institute, Harvard Stem Cell Institute and Joslin Diabetes Center.
He is an internationally recognized leader with seminal contributions that defined inflammatory nature of obesity and diabetes and important pillars of immunometabolism. Hotamisligil’s work also uncovered the role of endoplasmic reticulum in cellular and organismic metabolism, and its impact on metabolic diseases. His lab discovered novel lipokines and lipid binding hormones, such as FABP4 and FABKIN, that regulate systemic metabolism in obesity and aging. Hotamisligil pursues interdisciplinary paths, and alliances towards development of novel preventive and therapeutic strategies against obesity- and age-related diseases to improve health span. These programs have resulted in multiple patents and driven several drug development platforms, some currently in clinical trials.
Dr. Hotamisligil has been recognized by fellowships and awards from the Markey and Pew Foundations, the J.S. Simmons Endowment at Harvard University and the mentoring award of the Harvard School of Public Health. He is an elected fellow of the AAAS and the recipient of the Outstanding Scientific Accomplishment Award of American Diabetes Association, the Wertheimer Award from International Association for the Study of Obesity, the Naomi Berrie Award from Columbia University, Science Award of the Vehbi Koç Foundation, Roy Greep Award of Endocrine Society, the International Danone Prize, and the EASD-NovoNordisk Diabetes Prize for excellence. Dr. Hotamisligil’s work in collaboration with Refik Anadol, on subcellular architecture of liver tissue was featured at the main exhibition of the Venice Biennale Architecture. Dr. Hotamisligil is a member of the Board of Trustees of Kadir Has University, Chair of the Scientific Board of Crescenta Biosciences and among the founders and directors of the Children’s Wellness Center to support children who lost their limbs after the devastating earthquake in Türkiye.
Further information could be obtained at:
hsph.harvard.edu
en.wikipedia.org
CEO and Board Member
Burçe Kabatepe is a seasoned executive with cross-sector experience spanning engineering, investment management, and private equity, combining technical depth with strategic financial expertise.
Mr. Kabatepe began his professional career in 1999 as a Senior Systems Engineer in the Telecommunications Division at Telcordia Technologies. Between 2002 and 2006, he served as Director of Project Management at Merkat A.Ş., leading large-scale operational and technology-driven initiatives.
From 2008 to 2021, Mr. Kabatepe held progressively senior roles at İş Girişim Sermayesi Yatırım Ortaklığı A.Ş., one of Türkiye’s leading private equity companies, playing an active role in private equity investments, portfolio management, and strategic growth initiatives.
Between 2021 and 2023, he served as Senior Director of Investments at Maxis Girişim Sermayesi Portföy Yönetimi A.Ş., where he was responsible for investment strategy, transaction execution, and portfolio oversight.
In 2023–2025, Mr. Kabatepe returned to İş Girişim Sermayesi Yatırım Ortaklığı A.Ş. as Deputy General Manager. As part of his role he served as Member of the Board of Directors of Dr. F. Frik İlaç San. ve Tic. A.Ş., Nevotek Bilişim Ses ve İletişim Sistemleri A.Ş., Ortopro Tıbbi Aletler San. ve Tic. A.Ş., Nebyan Doğal San. ve Tic. A.Ş. and Radore Veri Merkezi Hizmetleri A.Ş.
He currently serves as the CEO of Enlila Sağlık İlaç Ar-Ge Üretim ve Laboratuvar A.Ş., where he leads the company’s strategic, operational, and investment agenda in alignment with its long-term scientific and institutional vision.
Mr. Kabatepe holds a B.S. in Systems Engineering from the University of Virginia (1999) and an MBA from New York University Stern School of Business (2008).
Chief Scientific Officer
Anthony M. Manning, Ph.D., is a seasoned biochemist with a 30-year career in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry and the Principal at Manning Bio Worldwide LLC. He has led the discovery and development of multiple therapeutics, contributing to the approval of three drugs for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. As the former Chief Scientific Officer at Momenta Pharmaceuticals, he built a pipeline of first-in-class therapeutics, leading to the company’s acquisition by Johnson & Johnson for $6.5Bn in 2020. Earlier, he spearheaded research and drug discovery at Biogen Idec, Roche Pharmaceuticals, Pharmacia Corp., and at several venture-backed biotechnology companies. He also serves as a Board Director at Monte Rosa Therapeutics, a public biotechnology company developing molecular glue degraders, and Cyrus Biotechnologies, a venture-backed AI-driven drug discovery company and is the Chairman of the Institute for Biomedical Entrepreneurship, a non-profit that mentors and supports biotech founders and innovators. He is an advisor to the Harvard Medical Therapeutics Initiative and the Blavatnik Biomedical Accelerator at Harvard. His contributions include over 120 scientific publications and patents in autoimmune diseases research, drug discovery, and novel therapeutics.