Kotan’s influence is most visibly quantified in the scale and lasting impact of the M&A and financing deals he has led. Having closed over 40 major M&A and capital market transactions totaling more than $18 billion, the capital he has helped deploy represents nearly 8% of all foreign direct investment into Turkey to date.

This is not merely a statistical accomplishment but a testament to his role as a critical conduit linking international giants—including private equity firms like Carlyle, KKR, Advent, Bain, Actera and Turkven; strategic players such as Akzo Nobel, Lukoil, and Air Liquide; and sovereign entities including Kamco and the Royal Group of the UAE—with the dynamism of the Turkish private sector.

On the other side of the table, he has served as trusted strategic counsel to the boards of Turkey’s most prominent conglomerates—including the Sabancı, Koç, Doğan, İnci, IC Holding, Akfen and Kalyon families—guiding them through transformative cross-border acquisitions, IPOs, and partnership deals.

What distinguishes Kotan is the integration of his advisory excellence with a principal’s mindset. His tenure as co-founder and Investment Committee member of Magna Capital—which he rapidly scaled into Turkey’s fastest-growing and best-performing hedge fund before a successful exit—provides him with an intimate understanding of capital allocation and risk that few pure advisors possess.

This investor DNA is further expressed through his role on the Investment Committee of Re-Pie, Turkey’s largest asset manager with nearly $4 billion in AUM, where he oversees private equity and venture capital portfolios. It also fuels his active, hands-on engagement as a global angel investor, with a focused portfolio of technology startups and several successful exits, demonstrating a forward-looking commitment to entrepreneurship that complements his mastery of traditional corporate finance.

This dedication to nurturing the next generation of business leadership is institutionalized through his board membership at Endeavor, where he supports high-impact entrepreneurs in emerging markets. His investment activity, both direct and through partnerships with both local and international venture capital funds, reflects a deliberate strategy to back innovation at the earliest stages—cementing his influence not only in the established corridors of power but also at the vibrant frontier of the new economy.

Throughout a career that includes leadership roles at Republic National Bank of New York, ABN AMRO, Ünlü & Co, and Pragma Corporate Finance, and now as Senior Partner at Ventura Partners, Kotan has been a consistent voice of authority in the market. He is a frequent source for leading financial publications including the Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, and Bloomberg, and a sought-after speaker at international conferences, where he translates complex market dynamics into compelling strategic insight.

Educated at Lehigh University (B.S., Mechanical Engineering) and Cornell University (M.S., Finance), Kotan combines analytical rigor with financial vision. This unique synthesis of engineering discipline and market intuition has allowed him to consistently structure novel solutions, anticipate market shifts, and build lasting value for clients and partners across the globe.

Based in Istanbul, he operates with a deep understanding of both local nuance and global capital currents, positioning him as an essential partner for any major strategic move into, out of, or within the evolving Turkish economy.