Turkey's top business group to replace chair, again

Turkey's top business group to replace chair, again

Hülya Güler - ISTANBUL

Sabancı Holding Retail Chief Haluk Dinçer

Sabancı Holding Retail Chief Haluk Dinçer is set to leave after six months at the helm of Turkey's top business organization.

Dinçer will not stand as a candidate for chairman at the annual congress of the Turkish Industry and Business Association (TÜSİAD) on January 22, 2015, Hürriyet has learned. 

The businessman notified the TÜSİAD's Presidential Council about his decision to leave the post and he did not step back despite several attempts to convince him, sources said.

The TÜSİAD chair is widely seen as a bed of nails in the current political climate in Turkey.

TÜSİAD board members Cansel Başaran Symes and Şükrü Ünlütürk are seen as favorite candidates to replace Dinçer.

Dinçer's predecessor Muharrem Yılmaz had stepped down on June 4 over a labor crisis in his own company, Turkey’s largest dairy producer, Sütaş.