While more than 60 employees from Novo Nordisk Turkey were appointed to global roles in the last five years; 10 Turkish leaders, who have been appointed to senior positions in a wide geography stretching from Denmark to the United Kingdom, from Ireland to Thailand and Vietnam, direct the company's worldwide growth and innovative health solutions.
Managers who assume critical responsibilities in the fields of R&D, regulation and commercial strategy; They demonstrate Turkey's managerial competence in the international pharmaceutical industry with the roles they take on the priority topics of the global health agenda. These names, who manage the access process of millions of patients to innovative treatments, shape Novo Nordisk's operational and commercial strategies around the world.
HERE ARE THE FEATURED NAMES OF THIS LEADERSHIP JOURNEY FROM TURKEY TO GLOBAL ROLES
Bike Başaklar – General Manager and Vice President, Novo Nordisk Türkiye
Bike Başaklar, who started his career at Novo Nordisk in 2007 with different leadership roles ranging from Turkey to Iraq, from Zurich to International Operations, assumed important responsibilities in the fields of commercial strategy, new product launches and portfolio transformation. After serving as Iraq General Manager, he served as SEEMEA Region Vice President in Zurich, leading new product launch strategies and customer excellence efforts.
He later managed regional procurement, new product marketing strategies and portfolio transformation as Vice President of Diabetes Portfolio in the International Operations Commercial Operations and Strategy team. Serving as General Manager and Vice President of Novo Nordisk Türkiye since January 1, 2025, Başaklar brings his international experience to the growth and transformation agenda of the Türkiye organization. He completed his undergraduate degree in biology at Imperial College London and his master's degree in marketing at the University of Strathclyde.
Dr. Burak Cem – Vice President, Middle East and Central Asia Region
After his medical education, Dr. continued his career in the pharmaceutical industry. Burak Cem has been working at Novo Nordisk for approximately 25 years and has assumed different leadership responsibilities in four different countries during this time. Today, as Vice President of Novo Nordisk Middle East and Central Asia Region (BAMECA), he leads the company's growth and transformation journey in a wide geography covering 22 countries.
Throughout his career, Cem took on important roles in the fields of sales, marketing, commercial strategy and operations, including Novo Nordisk Turkey General Manager, and contributed to the international growth of the company with the teams he led. The United Arab Emirates becoming the first launch market outside the US for the GLP-1 tablet in June 2026 was an important milestone demonstrating the strategic role of the Middle East and Central Asia region in the company's future growth journey.
Cem Özenç – Group Vice President, IO FAST
Cem Özenç, who has assumed leadership roles in Novo Nordisk's international operations in different geographies for more than 20 years, took on important responsibilities in the Middle East, Asia-Pacific and Australia after his career started in Turkey. After serving as Corporate Vice President and General Manager in the Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Islands organization, he moved to Copenhagen in August 2025 and served as IO FAST Group Vice President.
IO FAST is positioned as a global structure that brings together direct patient and consumer interaction, content and media, digital health, collaborations, technology and data in an end-to-end structure. As the leader of this structure, Özenç leads the acceleration of consumer interaction and multi-channel transformation in the International Operations organization outside the USA.
Cihan Serdar Kızılcık – General Manager, Novo Nordisk Thailand
Cihan Serdar Kızılcık, who started his career in Turkey, continues his leadership journey in the Asia-Pacific region as the General Manager of Novo Nordisk Thailand, after serving as the General Manager of Malaysia and the Philippines. Kızılcık leads the development of patient-centered health solutions in the field of diabetes and obesity and strengthening public-private sector collaborations in the region.
Dilek Doğan Gürlük – General Manager, Novo Nordisk Ireland
Dilek Doğan Gürlük, a Boğaziçi University graduate with more than 20 years of international experience in the pharmaceutical industry, served as Senior Marketing Director at Novo Nordisk Netherlands organization, following the commercial leadership roles she assumed in Turkey, Europe, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. Gürlük, who was appointed as Novo Nordisk Ireland General Manager in 2025, brings his experience in different healthcare systems and markets to Ireland, leading strategic growth, branding and the development of high-performance teams.
Dr. Emel Mashaki – Senior Vice President of R&D, Global Regulation, Quality and Clinical Reporting
Dr. is on the R&D board of directors at Novo Nordisk's headquarters in Denmark and assumes one of the critical leadership roles of the organization. Emel Mashaki leads global regulatory sciences, clinical development and quality processes with more than 25 years of international experience. Mashaki, who graduated from Istanbul University Faculty of Pharmacy and has a doctorate degree in pharmacy and drug development from Cardiff University, England, manages the worldwide health authority relations, licensing and clinical development processes of Novo Nordisk's innovative treatments.
Zeynep Destek – Vice President, APAC Medical, Real Life Data, Regulatory and Pharmacovigilance
Özgen Zeynep Yardimci, who has been working at Novo Nordisk for more than 17 years, has shaped her career with leadership roles in clinical research, regulatory affairs, pharmacovigilance and medical fields. He continued his international career journey, which started in Turkey, by assuming regional leadership roles in Dubai and Singapore. Today, Deputy serves as Vice President of Medical, Real Life Data (RWE), Regulatory Affairs and Pharmacovigilance at Novo Nordisk Asia-Pacific Region; It leads the way in bringing scientific data, especially obesity and diabetes, to healthcare professionals, developing real-life evidence and supporting access to innovative treatments.
Sedef Hanioğlu Tokat – Senior Director, Medical and Marketing, BA Europe East
Sedef Hanioğlu Tokat, who has more than 20 years of experience in the field of strategy and marketing, has been assuming important leadership roles in different geographies and functions within Novo Nordisk for approximately eight years. Hanioğlu Tokat, who has taken responsibility in different areas such as marketing, customer experience and obesity business unit in the Middle East, Africa, Europe and global organizations throughout his career, has been serving as the Senior Director of Medical and Marketing in the Business Area Europe East organization since March 2025. In his current role, he leads the region's strategic priorities by bringing together medical and commercial perspectives with a holistic approach.
Şebnem Avşar Tuna – General Manager, Novo Nordisk UK
Serving as General Manager of Novo Nordisk UK since February 2025, Şebnem Avşar Tuna focuses on accelerating commercial growth, organizational transformation and strategic leadership in one of Europe's leading healthcare markets. Tuna, who has undertaken senior management roles in the CIS region, South Asia, Oceania and Asia Pacific throughout his career of more than 25 years, has also played an important role in shaping strategic healthcare access initiatives within the UK healthcare system. Tuna is a graduate of Istanbul University Faculty of Medicine.
Şule Erdim Ersoy – General Manager, Novo Nordisk Vietnam
Şule Erdim Ersoy, who has more than 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, was appointed as Novo Nordisk Vietnam General Manager as of August 2026, following her position as Novo Nordisk Azerbaijan General Manager. Ersoy previously held commercial leadership roles in diabetes and obesity at Novo Nordisk in different regions covering the European, Middle East and African markets. In Vietnam, a rapidly developing country, Ersoy's focus is on the management of chronic diseases with innovative solutions, strategic relations with health authorities and the implementation of sustainable growth policies.
This picture, which extends from the headquarters in Denmark to the United Kingdom, Ireland, Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore, reveals that Turkey is not only a growing market for Novo Nordisk, but also a strong talent center that feeds its global management teams. The leadership experience shaped in Turkey contributes to the work carried out in priority health areas such as diabetes, obesity and rare diseases in different parts of the world.
