Güven Karaöz
Güven Karaöz, a Management Consultant specializing in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, has been conducting innovation-focused management consultancy activities centered around business model design and innovation since his early role as University-Industry Collaboration Coordinator. He also works on building entrepreneurial ecosystems for institutions. His work on Startup-Civilian and Defense Industry Collaboration dates back to these years. He has worked in consultancy firms operating in the field of innovation and R&D management and has also been involved in the establishment process of a logistics company's R&D center.
At the consultancy firms he has been a part of, he has provided R&D Center establishment and innovation consultancy services to organizations such as Kumport Port Operations, Tekfen Agriculture Adana Agripark, Artella Furniture, Lidyum Cybersecurity and Software, and Eryaz Software. In 2018, he started working simultaneously at SSTEK A.Ş., our country's first venture capital firm focused on the defense industry, and the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB), gaining experience in the defense industry. At the SSB, he worked within the EYDEP (Industrial Competence Assessment and Support Program) and gained experience in public-defense industry collaboration.
After the SSB, he became a Partner during the establishment of Binovative Innovation Consultancy Inc. and served as a consultant in the processes of establishing intrapreneurship and open innovation management systems for companies such as TAI and TÜRKSAT. He is currently an Independent Board Member of Mepsan Defense Industry and Automotive Inc., focusing on innovation and entrepreneurship. Additionally, he closely experiences the entrepreneurship ecosystem as a Board Advisor for the startup Newky (Texinsight).
As a civil society volunteer, Karaöz is a member of the "Entrepreneurship Ecosystem," "Intrapreneurship," and "There is Work in this Youth!" working groups at TÜSİAD. He is also a member of the ESG Working Group at TKYD (Corporate Governance Association of Turkey). He is a member of the SME Development Working Group under the KalDer (Turkish Quality Association) Ankara branch. He is a member of the TÜRKONFED Youth, Education, and Entrepreneurship Commission. He is a member of the TSE ISO56000 Innovation Management System Mirror Committee and the SASAD Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management Working Group. He is also an Executive Board Member of the Girişim'23 Summit.
Karaöz completed the Intellectual Property Rights, Technology Policies, and Innovation Management Master's program at Ankara University FİSAUM and prepared his thesis on "The Relationship between Open Innovation and the Defense Industry." He also took master's courses on "strategy development" and war strategies as a civilian student at the War Academies Command. Karaöz is a mentor at "Cube Incubation" within Teknopark Istanbul and BTM (Commercialization Center) within the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce. He also serves as a jury member in Teknofest organizations.