Cuneyd Zapsu was born in Istanbul on November 19, 1956. His mother, Gaye Zapsu, moved to Munich with her children Aziz and Cuneyd, after their father Mustafa Pertev Zapsu settled there in 1960.

From age 4 to the end of his elementary school, Zapsu lived in Germany. When his father moved back to Istanbul, Zapsu and his two years older brother in 1967 enrolled at the Istanbul German High School where they remained until graduation. Zapsu is fluent in German and English.

He continued his higher education at Istanbul University’s Faculty of Business Administration, then went on to study Economics at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich. During this period, Zapsu and his brother made forays into the business world by reviving the textile company founded by his father and also importing Turkish hazelnuts into Germany. Not long after becoming an entrepreneur, his father persuaded Zapsu to return to Turkey and continue his business there.

In Turkey, the Zapsu’s founded Balsu Gida, the leading company in the hazelnut industry, and in 1986 when he joined TUSIAD he was heralded as its youngest member.

By joining the World Economic Forum in 1992, he further expanded his relations within the international platform.

Ever pressing forward, Zapsu became the co-founder and president of the Hazelnut Promotion Group, which became famous for its “Aganigi Naganigi” ad campaign created by Ali Taran.

In later years he took a break from the business world to enter politics to serve as Chairman’s Special Advisor and Data Coordinator in the political party which he co-founded: the Justice and Development Party (AK Party). During this period, he made significant contributions to the democratisation and globalisation of the Turkish Republic.

In March 2008, Zapsu resigned from all of his political duties and established Cuneyd Zapsu Consulting Inc. which provides global elite clientele with pragmatic and sustainable business solutions to ventures.

Along with his consultancy work, Zapsu is still the Chairman of the Board of Balsu and is involved in various private investments and charity works. 

In 2008, he co-founded Genc Hayat Vakfi with his family to provide children and young people aged 11-18 access to education and prevent child labor.

Cuneyd Zapsu’s paternal grandfather, Abdurrahim Zapsu, was a scholar, writer and poet. He was a descendant of Abdulkadir Geylani on his father’s side and the Abbasid family on his mother’s side. Abdurrahim Zapsu married Hidayet Zapsu who was from the Bedirhani family. They had four children named Mustafa Pertev, Ayse Hale, Jale and Daver Metin.

His maternal grandfather, Ibrahim Uzel, migrated from Rusçuk (Rousse) to Bursa in 1878. He established Uzel Machinery which manufactured the first tractor in Turkey. His daughter Gaye married Mustafa Pertev Zapsu and they had two children: Geylan Abdulaziz and Hasan Cuneyd Zapsu.

Despite being the son of an Islamic scholar, Pertev Zapsu studied at Saint George Austrian High School (his sisters also in French and Austrian schools) in Istanbul. He was a supporter of the Democrat Party and left Turkey on the night of the 1960 military coup on a ship. Staying first in Marseille and Rotterdam, he settled in Munich and later brought his family to Germany. There, he traded cotton yarn. The family returned to Istanbul in 1967.

Gaye Zapsu was born in Bursa. Along with being a founder of Azizler Holding, she was an artist and teacher of Islamic illumination and calligraphy.

Below, we show only a relative small selection of some of the works he has done and currently does in his long career of the holdings.

• Texu GmbH – Munich / General Manager / 1975 – 1978
• Azizler Holding – Istanbul / Chairman, Vice – Chairman and Board Member of various companies / 1977 – 2002
• A&C Marketing GmbH – Munich / Founder and General Manager / 1978 – 1999
• Balsu Gıda Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş. – Istanbul / Founder, General Manager, Chairman / 1979 – present
• Birleşik Mağazalar A.Ş. (BİM) – Istanbul / Founder and Board Member / 1995 – 1999
• Cuneyd Zapsu Consultancy A.Ş. – Istanbul / Chairman / 2008 – present
• Texas Pacific Group (TPG) – Fort Worth TX / Senior Advisor / 2008 – 2017
• A 101 Yeni Mağazacılık A.Ş. – Istanbul / Founder and Shareholder / 2008 – 2010
• RWE Holding A.Ş. – Istanbul / Vice – Chairman / 2008 – 2013
• RWE  – Essen / Senior Advisor / 2008 – 2013
• Barclays Capital – London / Senior Advisor / 2010 – 2014
• Coca Cola Inc. – Atlanta / Senior Advisor / 2012 – 2020
• World Economic Forum (WEF) – Geneva / Senior Advisor / 2012 – 2021
• Akkuyu NPP – Ankara / Member of the Board / 2013 – 2022
• WPP – London / Advisory Board Member / 2013 – 2018
• Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation – Moscow / Senior Advisor / 2016 – 2022

• Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen Association (TUSIAD) – Istanbul / Member / 1986 – present
• Exporters Association – Istanbul / President / 1987 – 2001
• International Investors Association (YASED) – Istanbul / Member / 1989 – 2006
• Turkish – US Business Council (TAIK) / Board Member / 1994 – present
• German-Turkish Chamber of Industry and Commerce / 1995 – 2002
• International Nuts and Dried Fruit Council (INC) / Board Member, President and ExeCo Member / 1996 – 2019
• Hazelnut Promotion Group (FTG) / Founding Co-Chairman / 1997 – 2001
• World Hazelnut Council – New Jersey / Founding Co-Chairman / 1997 – 2001
• Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV) / High Advisory Board / 2000 – 2015
• Justice and Development Party (AK Party) / Founder, Executive Board Member, Party Chairman’s Private Assistant and Information Coordinator / 2001 – 2008
• World Economic Forum (WEF) – Geneva / Member, Partner / 2002 – present
• Young Lives Foundation (GHV)– Istanbul / Founder, Member of the Supervisory Board / 2008 – present
• Turkish – German Business Council – Istanbul / Board Member / 2008 – 2018
• Istanbul University, Faculty of Business Administration ALUMNİ / Chairman of Advisory Board / 2010 – present
• Antalya Bilim University / Member of the Board of Trustees / 2011 – 2017
• German High School Association – Istanbul / ALUMNİ Member / 2014 – present
• Public Policy and Democracy Studies Association (PODEM) / Vice Chairman/ 2015 – present
• Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) – Istanbul / Board Member / 2015 – present
• The Performance Theatre (TPT) – London / Advisory Board Member / 2016 – present

• Turkey’s Best Exporters Annual Gold Medal and Plaque and Awards from the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, Istanbul Chamber of Industry and Ministry of Trade / 1987 – 2004
• Federal Order of Merit from the President of the Federal Republic of Germany / 2007
• Golden Hazelnut Award by International Nuts and Dried Fruit Council, INC / 2015

• Primary Education in Munich / 1962 – 1967
• German High School, Istanbul / 1967 – 1974
• Istanbul University, School of Business / 1974 – 1979
• Ludwig Maximilian University, School of Economics, Munich / 1975 – 1980