Early Life and Education
Selçuk Bayraktar was born in Istanbul, Turkey, in 1979. He graduated from Robert College in 1997. He pursued his higher education in electronics and communication engineering at Istanbul Technical University, graduating in 2002. His academic journey continued with a master's degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and a second master's from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Rise to Success
Bayraktar's career took off when he returned to Turkey and started working at Baykar, a company founded by his family. His leadership as CTO led to the development of Turkey's first domestically produced drones. These drones, particularly the Bayraktar TB2, gained global recognition for their effectiveness in various conflicts. Baykar has become the world's leading UCAV company.
Key Business Strategies
Baykar's success is attributed to several strategic factors. Firstly, its focus on indigenous technology and a high localization rate, with production processes exceeding 90% in recent years. Secondly, Baykar has generated 90% of its revenue from exports, and has signed agreements with 35 countries for the Bayraktar TB2. The company's commitment to research and development, demonstrated by its 15% revenue investment in R&D, has also been crucial to the firm's growth. Baykar has also been the export leader with three products for the last three years, singlehandedly accounting for almost one third of the entire industry's exports.
Philanthropy
Selçuk Bayraktar is the founding chairman of the T3 Foundation, which promotes science and technology among young people.
