Alpaslan ERDOĞAN was born in 1958 in the Çıldır district of Ardahan. He completed his primary, secondary, and high school education there. Following his graduation as an Artillery Second Lieutenant from the Turkish Military Academy in 1979, he served as a Battery Commander in various units of the Turkish Armed Forces between 1979 and 1987. He graduated as a Staff Officer from the Army War College, where he studied from 1987 to 1989. In 1994, he completed his education at the Turkish Armed Forces Academy and obtained a master's degree in public administration from the Institute of Public Administration for Turkey and the Middle East. From 1995 to 1997, he served as a planning officer at the NATO headquarters in Bosnia and Herzegovina and as the Commander of the Commando Battalion in Kulp, Diyarbakır. Between 1997 and 2000, he was the Branch Chief in the Plans and Policy Directorate at NATO AFSOUTH Headquarters in Naples, Italy. From 2000 to 2002, he served as the Branch Chief responsible for Defense Research in the Directorate of General Plans and Policy at the Turkish Land Forces Command. Between 2002 and 2004, he commanded the Turkish Forces Regiment in Nicosia, Cyprus. In 2004, ERDOĞAN was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General and served as the Commander of the 34th Internal Security Infantry Brigade in Patnos, Ağrı, and Şırnak between 2004 and 2006. From 2006 to 2011, he served as the Director of the Defense Industry and Budget Management in the General Plans and Policy Directorate at the Turkish General Staff, holding the rank of Brigadier General for two years and Major General for three years. In 2011, he served as the Commander of the 52nd Tactical Armored Division in Istanbul and was promoted to Lieutenant General in 2012. He served as the Chief of the General Plans and Policy Directorate at the Turkish General Staff for three years. In 2016, after serving as the Commander of the 5th Corps in Çorlu, Tekirdağ, he retired as a Lieutenant General. Currently, ERDOĞAN serves as a consultant for various defense industry companies. He is fluent in English, married, and the father of two children.
Panelist - 2
Prof.Dr. Erkan Erdil Faculty Member, Department of Economics and Science and Technology Policies Research Center (METU-TEKPOL), Middle East Technical University
Erkan Erdil (Ankara, 1968) studied Political Science and Public Administration at METU in Ankara. He received Bachelor of Science degree in 1990. He received Ph.D. in 2001 from University of Maastricht. He is serving at METU since 1992. He was the director of Science and Technology Policies Research Center (METU-TEKPOL) between 2002-2017. He was also the board member of GLOBELICS (The global network for the economics of learning, innovation, and competence building systems) and ISS (International Schumpeter Society). Resume
Murat ASLAN (PhD) was born in Malatya in 1983. He was graduated from METU Industrial Engineering Department in 2005. He received his master’s degree from the same department with his study regarding “Optimization and Modeling of Machining Process with Cardinality Constraint” in 2008. He received his PhD degree from METU Science and Policy Studies in Supply Chain Area with his study “TheCapability Contribution of Main Defense Industry Firms to Their Suppliers” in 2018. He gives part time lectures in different universities about Supply Chain Management.He joined ASELSAN family in 2006 and worked as Program Manager in Command and Control Management Department. Between 2016 and 2021 he worked as Strategy and Process Manager and from 2021 to 2024 he worked as Strategic Procurement Director.He was appointed as the Vice President of Supply Chain Management with the resolution of the ASELSAN Board of Directors dated July 30, 2024. He is married with two children and fluent in English.
Tanyel Çakmak has devoted 15+ years of her career to technology management and development, currently as Head Leader/Chief of Technology Development of MMU KAAN Aircraft at Turkish Aerospace Inc. Prior to KAAN Aircraft, Tanyel Çakmak held systems engineering position at ALTAY Main Battle Tank at OTOKAR Inc. Currently, Tanyel is attending a certification program at University of California Berkeley about Artificial Intelligence Strategies and Applications. She has an active academical background more than 20 years, holds bachelor's degree at Econometrics and Oprational Research from Gazi University. She has Master of Science degree at Technology Management from National Defense University with the thesis about "Technology Readdiness Levels Calculator at Defense Industry". Tanyel Çakmak has Doctorate degree at Technology Management from National Defense University with the thesis of "A New Technology Intelligence Method". Tanyel Çakmak is active at technology events, she has also served on many communities such as Women in Technology (WTECH). She has a passion for mentoring the young women at STEM areas and especially at defense industry. Tanyel Çakmak focuses exclusively on four primary areas: Technology Development, Technology Transition, Industrialization and Technology Intelligence.
