Ebru Özdemir is the Chairwoman of Limak Holdings, with over 20 years of experience in project financing and development, as well as public-private partnerships projects.

She is also the founder of Limak Foundation, which brings all Limak’s philanthropic and social impact projects under one roof. One of the Limak Foundation’s most prominent initiatives is the Limak Philharmonic Orchestra, which interprets and introduces Turkish music to a global audience.

Mrs Özdemir is especially passionate about girls’ education and women’s empowerment in male dominated fields. Through her philanthropic initiatives, she aims to target the disproportionate representation of women at both academic and professional levels in engineering and increasing women’s participation and access to STEM fields. In 2015, she founded Engineer Girls of Türkiye (EGT), an initiative that provides young women enrolled in engineering higher education with scholarships, mentorship, training and career opportunities. After seven successful years in Türkiye, the EGT project was renamed Global Engineer Girls (GEG) and subsequently expanded internationally to Kuwait, North Macedonia, Kosovo, and Saudi Arabia, supporting over 1300 young women to date.

To acknowledge and celebrate the success of GEG, in early 2023, the initiative was recognised globally by the World Economic Forum as one of the eight DEI Lighthouses for its impact on gender equity in STEM. In addition, Ebru Özdemir was selected as a finalist for the 2023 Young President’s Organization (YPO) Global Impact Awards.

Ms. Özdemir’s commitment to gender inclusivity also drove her to cofound the 30 Percent
Club, a voluntary platform aiming to develop a diverse and gender-balanced pool of talent for all businesses at all levels while she also holds Board Membership at the Women in Technology Association (Wtech Türkiye). Ms. Özdemir’s guidance has greatly developed the focus on diversity and inclusion at Limak, leading to Limak Investment receiving the UNDP Gender Equality Seal Certificate of Achievement, making Limak Investment the first and, thus far, only company within the UNDP Regional Center for Europe and Central Asia to receive this certification.

Ms. Özdemir holds a BSc in Civil Engineering from Boğaziçi University in Türkiye and an MBA in International Business and Finance from Fordham University in the US. She holds memberships at numerous organisations, including but not limited to the Foreign Economic Relations Board of Türkiye (DEİK), the Turkish-American Business Council (TAİK), Atlantic Council’s International Advisory Board, UNDP Istanbul International Center for Private Sector in Development and many others. Her expertise also led to her election as a member of the business advisory board of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Public-Private Partnerships in 2014.