Ahmet Atay

Ahmet Atay, Government and Corporate Affairs Director of Microsoft Turkey, was born in İzmir, Turkey in 1978. He studied at İzmir Bornova Anatolian High School and graduated from Department of Business Administration at Middle East Technical University (METU), Ankara. After his graduation, he worked for the Turkish Ministry for European Union Affairs for 10 years responsible for the works relating to harmonization of EU legislation with Turkish legislation as well as for coordinating preparation of Annual EU Pre-accession Financial Assistance Programmes. Before joining Microsoft, he had worked for Ernst Young between 2010-2013 as the Government and European Union Advisory Services Manager in charge of leading the government relations with the public institutions, NGOs and professional organizations on the relevant policies and areas as well as being responsible for the projects funded by government, EU and other donors, in terms of business development, tender procedures, project management and project coordination. After Ernst Young, he joined Microsoft Turkey in 2013 as the Government and Corporate Affairs Director. He is developing, orchestrating and implementing strategic outreach strategies and campaigns important to the ICT industry. He is also the leading voice for the Company in (and building and strengthening the Company’s relationship with) government institutions, industry partners, trade associations, advocacy organizations, multi-lateral organizations, and industry coalitions. He is continuing his Master’s Degree education on Science and Technology Policy Studies at METU. He’s a board member of Turkish-American Business Association (TABA-AmCham) and Government Relations & Corporate Affairs Management Association (KİYED). He is married and has a daughter.