Yildirim International Entrepreneurship Award has been established in honor of the distinguished work and lifetime achievements of business tycoon Robert Yuksel Yildirim, an engineer with BSc (Turkey) and MSc (USA) degrees. Despite holding no business degrees, a lifetime of hard and smart work enabled him to turn his father´s business from a small Samsun (Turkey)-based one when he took charge of it in 1993 as its President & CEO, to a multinational group of companies present on 4 continents and in 49 countries as can be seen here.
Robert Yuksel Yildirim, born in Sivas, Turkey in 1960, received his bachelor´s degree in mechanical engineering from Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey in 1983 and his master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon, USA in 1989. He began his career as a design and project engineer at Paceco Corporation in San Mateo, California, USA, working for five years designing container cranes before he joined the management board of the family-owned company in 1993. Under his leadership as President & CEO, Yildirim Group is today a global player in metals and mining, port management, coal and coke, fertilizers and chemicals, energy, and maritime industry. Lloyd´s List ranks Robert Yuksel Yildirim among the top 100 most influential people in the shipping industry (#46), and among top 10 most powerful people in container terminals industry (#8). Consulting company Drewry lists him as one of the top 20 global leaders in port operations. Robert Yuksel Yildirim is also among the top 3 leaders of the global chromium industry. 
In addition to his responsibilities at Yildirim Group, he is a Board Member of CMA CGM Group, and Yildirim Group owns 24% of its shares. He is also a Member of the Board of Trustees at Garip & Zeycan Yildirim Foundation, and the Chairman of Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) Turkey-Colombia Business Council. Robert Yuksel Yildirim is married and has two children.
Robert´s modus vivandus and operandus is: "If you want success in business, you should strike out new paths rather than travelling on the worn paths of accepted success. However, you have to put 100% of your heart and mind in the business and the business in your heart and mind."
The purpose of this Award is to acknowledge the work of various personalities for great entrepreneurial successes in diverse fields of life, especially directly or indirectly related, but not limited to, science and new technologies for sustainable development.
The Award Citation reads:
"For innovative leadership in establishing, developing and/or growing, against all challenges, odds and risks, a sustainable business as per FLOGEN Sustainability Framework in the environment, economic, and social point of view"
Proposals of worthy candidates are solicited for the Yildirim International Entrepreneurship Award.
To nominate a colleague or apply for yourself, click here to go to the Award Application Site.
(You will need to login in order to fill out the application; if you do not have an account in the system, you will have to create one before filling out the form.)
Deadline for proposals and expression of interest: 31 August.
For any additional information before or after application, contact us at symposiums@flogen.org