Roads to somewhere, roads to hearts

Before this chapter of my life, I was an engineer.

I worked on Istanbul’s M7, a fully driverless metro line with 19 stations, and one of the first built with domestic technology. My job was the platform screen doors: the glass wall between the platform and the tracks. Design, installation, commissioning, operations, maintenance. I was “the Engineer” for all of it, and later the project manager.

Then I changed lanes. First international marketing at ISBAK, taking its smart transportation technology to new markets. Then business development and corporate innovation, helping partners imagine their future before their competitors did.

People ask if it was a big jump. It was less of a jump than it looks.

Engineers build roads to somewhere; marketers build roads to hearts. I have walked both paths. The roads built by engineers last longer, but the ones built by marketers reach farther.

What engineering gave me is patience with systems: nothing works until every part works. What marketing gave me is the other half: nothing matters until someone cares. The best work needs both.