Ridvan: We are here with Pinar, the CEO of KocFinance, which is the financial subsidiary of Koc Holding. Koc Holding is the largest group of companies in Turkey. I’m Ridvan, co-founder of Alpha Agile, an agile coaching and consulting company in Turkey, and we are working together with Pinar on KocFinance’s agile journey. Let’s start!
Dealing with Crisis in an Emerging Market
Ridvan: I have many questions in mind, but since we have limited time, let me start with this: How do businesses in emerging markets, particularly Koc Holding, manage crises?
Pinar: Being in a developing country makes it more difficult in many aspects. However, we are more familiar with volatility—major turbulence happens every four to five years. The causes are not only financial; they can be earthquakes, political unrest, or other unexpected events. Every crisis is different, but they share a common VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity) environment.
The economic impact of a crisis can be more severe in the developing world. Developed countries have deep financial support and monetary easing packages backed by their strong currencies. We don’t have that luxury. However, emerging countries have an advantage in soft skills. Turkish people are known for their entrepreneurial spirit, flexibility, and adaptability—this is part of our culture.
Resilience and Adaptation During the Pandemic
We have built strong resilience muscles due to our experience with volatility. During the pandemic, Turkey had a low mortality rate, well below global averages. This was due to our healthcare workers' resilience, effective use of experimental treatments, and rapid sharing of best practices among hospitals.
The business world shares this adaptive mindset. We know that every crisis will eventually end. Instead of panicking, we focus on minimizing the impact.
Koc Holding’s Perspective on Crisis Management
Pinar: Koc Holding has a history of over 90 years, operating in diverse industries such as oil refining, automotive production, banking, hospitality, and retail. We have a global presence in more than 60 countries. Despite economic ups and downs, the group has always emerged stronger from crises.
Our resilience is rooted in our purpose-driven culture. The first corporate value at Koc Holding is: "We prosper only if our country prospers." This means that we prioritize social goals alongside business goals. The group owns hospitals, a university, and actively participates in building and managing NGOs. For example, the UN Women’s HeForShe initiative in Turkey is led by Koc.
Working for, doing business with, or buying from Koc makes you feel like you are contributing to a greater purpose. Another key value is that our people are our strongest asset. Equal treatment, hiring and retaining the best talent, and investing in employee development are the three pillars of our HR strategy. This approach has placed Koc among the world’s top 50 employers.
Examples of Social Enterprise Values in Action
Ridvan: That’s an inspiring approach for a business enterprise. Could you give some examples of how these values played out during the last crisis?
Pinar: Certainly. One example is our home appliances company, which engineered and produced two respiratory devices in just one month—despite it being outside their area of expertise. They collaborated with a medical startup, external engineers, and health professionals to make it happen.
Koc hotels provided free accommodation for healthcare workers. Our automotive factories produced medical supplies and devices for hospitals—all for free.
From an HR perspective, our main focus was employee safety and well-being. We implemented multi-layered communication strategies from day one, offering financial support through group-wide loyalty programs and psychological support through our online platforms.
We also expanded our online academy, adding short videos from medical professionals on pandemic-related topics and personal development. The Koc Sports Club launched online training programs for employees and their families, ranging from yoga to exercises for the elderly.
A chatbot, "Hey, What’s Up?" was introduced to answer employee concerns about the pandemic. Eventually, we opened the online academy and sports club content to the general public, receiving millions of views and inspiring other organizations to follow suit.
How Koc Was Able to Respond Quickly
Ridvan: You listed many initiatives. How were you able to implement them so quickly?
Pinar: Our HR department had already adopted agile HR practices, allowing them to form new teams rapidly based on emerging needs. These actions were designed using design thinking methodologies, ensuring that employee insights were incorporated through surveys.
The main priority was maintaining employees' health and job security. Business leaders also worked closely with government officials to shape policies that protected jobs and employment in Turkey.
The Link Between Social Responsibility and Profitability
Ridvan: Many people assume that social enterprise values and profitability are contradictory. What are your thoughts?
Pinar: I believe they go hand in hand. Koc’s global vision is "sustainable and profitable growth." You cannot put people first if you do not have financial strength.
To survive and prosper in a volatile environment, strong financial management, cash flow, and leadership are essential. As Warren Buffett says, "You never know who is swimming naked until the tide goes out." At Koc, we ensure financial resilience so that we can continue making investments and growing, even in challenging times.
Changing Leadership in the Digital Age
Ridvan: Leadership was already evolving before the crisis. How has the pandemic accelerated this shift?
Pinar: Koc Holding had already launched a transformation initiative, led by the CEO, to leverage digitalization and innovation. A key focus is cultural transformation—starting with leaders.
Today’s business environment requires leaders to be closer to the customer, learn through experimentation, and adapt quickly. Decision-making is no longer limited to managers; teams working directly with customers and using data-driven insights have the answers.
This requires a shift from traditional leadership to servant leadership, where leaders create the right environment for teams to flourish. Our leadership development programs focus on self-discovery, coaching, agile methodologies, and even mindfulness retreats in nature.
How Agility Was Implemented at KocFinance
Ridvan: How has this leadership transformation influenced KocFinance?
Pinar: We realized that to be truly agile in financial services, we had to start with ourselves as leaders. With your help, we formed the leadership team as our first agile business team, naming it Pitstop. The name reflects our role—to serve the company, provide tools, remove obstacles, and move quickly.
Our agile transformation has brought significant benefits. Strategic priorities became clearer, transparency increased, and we opened our backlog to all employees. Business teams saw how easy and enjoyable agile work can be, inspiring them to adopt it themselves. Today, our leadership team is running its 15th sprint, continuously improving how we manage priorities.
Advice for Business Leaders
Ridvan: What advice would you give to leaders managing crises and recovery?
Pinar: The crisis phase is over, and now businesses must focus on recovery. The impact varies by industry—some will need restructuring, while others will grow faster.
Cost-cutting is a natural reaction, but it should be done carefully. Just like in a fitness program, you want to lose fat but keep muscle. Over-cutting can be harmful. At the same time, leaders must look for growth opportunities and embrace uncertainty. The key to navigating complexity is curiosity, experimentation, and fast learning.
Leaders must also focus on transparency, visibility, and reliability to guide their teams through uncertainty.
Ridvan: This aligns perfectly with business agility! Thank you, Pinar, for sharing such valuable insights.
Pinar: Thank you, Ridvan! It was a pleasure talking to you. Thanks to the Business Agility Institute for this opportunity. Looking forward to the live session!