Serpil Timuray

Speaker Bio

Serpil Timuray is a global business leader and an experienced plc non-executive director with 34 years of experience in Technology, Telecoms, and FMCG sectors. She is recognised for delivering growth, large-scale business and digital transformations, turnarounds, M&As, and portfolio shaping expansions and divestments in complex environments and regulated markets. She combines CEO level operatonal leadership of multibillion-euro international portfolios with deep board governance globally.

From 2014-2025, Serpil was a member of Vodafone Group’s Executive Committee, holding senior leadership roles including CEO of Vodafone Investments, CEO of Europe Cluster, CEO of AMAP Region (Africa, Middle East, Asia, Pacific), and Group Chief Commercial and Strategy Officer. She joined Vodafone in January 2009 as the CEO of Turkey, where she turned around the company, having previously served as CEO of Danone Dairy Turkey from 2002, where she led the merger of Danone & Nestle companies. Her formative career was at Procter & Gamble, progressing through various marketing roles to Turkey Executive Committee.

Serpil has over a decade of plc board experience at leading global firms, serving currently as an independent non-executive director at BAT plc since December 2023, after prior service as an independent non-executive director at Danone plc during April 2015-April 2023, where she also chaired Corporate Social Responsibility Committee. In addition, she has chaired or served as a non-executive director of multiple listed companies and joint ventures in Technology sector, including Oak Holdings of Vantage Towers, VOIS Vodafone Shared Operations Ltd, TPG Telecom listed in Australia, VodafoneZiggo B.V., Vodacom Group plc, Safaricom plc, Vodafone Qatar plc, Vodafone and Qatar Foundation LLC, Vodafone India, Vodafone Hutchison Australia Ltd, Vodafone Egypt, and Vodafone Turkey.

Serpil has been serving at the boards of non-profit organisations since 2002. An advocate of diversity & inclusion, she is the Founding Chair of the #ChangeTheFace Alliance - the recipient of the "GLOMO Diversity in Tech Outstanding Achievement" award-n technology, which is integrated into GSMA as of January 2026. She is an Advisory Board Member of AI Alliance UK and a member of WEF’s Digital Leaders Europe. She sits at the board of DTIK (World Turkish Business Council) and chairs DTIK UK. She has served as a board member of GSMA and chaired its Public Policy Committee. She has also served as a member of Türkiye President’s Investment Advisory Council, as Chair of YASED (Foreign Direct Investors Association), as Vice-Chair of Turkey-UK Business Council, and as Koc University’s Board of Trustees member.

Serpil has been a regular fixture in international listings, including Fortune’s ‘Most Powerful Women International’, HERoes ‘100 Women Executives Role Model’, Newsweek’s ‘World’s 125 Women of Impact’, and FT ‘Champions of Women in Business’. She is the recipient of “World’s Turkish Businessperson” award by DTIK in 2023, presented by President of Türkiye, also by Ekonomist in 2021 and 2018. She has been named as a “Young Global Leader” by World Economic Forum in 2009.