Executive Search from Turkey to the US

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, immigration, or financial advice.

decades of executive recruitment has taught us one thing: Turkey to the US is one of the highest-yield talent corridors most companies ignore entirely.

Not because of numbers — the US-Turkey trade relationship is substantial, worth roughly $36.8 billion annually. But because American companies systematically underestimate Turkish executives.

Turkish talent enters US markets with operational rigor forged in a high-complexity business environment. They’ve managed across currency regimes, navigated multi-stakeholder governance, and built operations in regulatory frameworks that don’t tolerate sloppiness. When they land in New York or Chicago, they bring judgment and execution discipline. The friction isn’t incompatibility. It’s unfamiliarity on both sides.

Turkey–U.S. Economic Snapshot

Sources: World Bank, DEIK, BEA (2024–2025 data)

The Market Structure: Why Turkish Executives Are Moving Now

Turkey’s economy is manufacturing-heavy. According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity, petroleum products, carpets, vehicles, and machinery dominate trade flows. US imports from Turkey totaled approximately $16.4 billion in 2024. Notably, Turkish textile and apparel exports to the US grew to $780 million in 2024, and Turkey holds the position of 4th largest clothing exporter globally.

What matters for executive search: Turkey’s largest companies are undergoing structural change.

Nearly 95% of Turkish firms are family-owned. Succession planning, when it happens, has historically been determined by family structure rather than meritocratic process. But this is shifting fast.

Conglomerates like Koç Holding — Turkey’s largest industrial group, now on the Fortune Global 500 — are professionalizing their leadership. Koç comprises 113 companies across banking, energy, automotive, and defense, with 124,000 employees. That transition created a need for professional managers at scale. Many of those managers are now available for American opportunities.

Sabancı Holding — diversified across 17 countries — recently appointed its first non-family CEO, signaling a fundamental shift toward professional management. These transitions mean experienced Turkish executives are entering competitive talent markets for the first time.

Arçelik, the multinational appliance manufacturer present in over 100 countries including the US, employs professional executives across finance, operations, and supply chain. Many have considered or will consider American moves.

Trade Data: The Engine of Movement

US exports to Turkey reached $20.4 billion in 2024, up 32.7% from 2023. Turkish exports to the US fell 2%, landing at $16.4 billion. That imbalance is forcing Turkish manufacturers and exporters deeper into American supply chains, which requires American-based leadership.

Manufacturing comprises 16.8% of Turkey’s GDP. Key industries driving US trade:

• Textiles and Apparel: Turkey is the 4th largest clothing exporter globally. Supply chain and distribution executives with American market knowledge are actively sought.
• Construction Materials: The Turkish construction industry exceeds $103.9 billion. Operations executives with cross-border project experience are in demand.
• Food Processing: Turkey leads global production of hazelnuts and apricots, and is a major processed foods supplier. Regulatory compliance and distribution executives are essential to US importers.
• Automotive Components: With $1.4 billion in automotive exports to the US in 2024, Turkish suppliers need American-based engineering and operations leadership.

The US Trade Representative maintains active engagement on these sectors. Tariff policy — particularly recent tariff structures — is pushing Turkish companies to invest in US-based manufacturing and operations, requiring both American executives and Turkish leaders who understand their parent companies.

The Five Friction Points: Where Integration Actually Breaks Down

We’re not interested in cultural generalizations. Here are five specific operational gaps where Turkish and American executives clash, and how to prepare for them.

1. Hierarchy vs. Egalitarianism

Turkish business typically centralizes decision-making. A managing director makes calls; subordinates execute. American business distributes authority. Decisions incorporate input from multiple levels. When a Turkish executive joins a company where an engineer questions a VP’s strategy in a meeting, it reads as insubordination. It isn’t — it’s standard.

The solution: direct conversation about authority structures before day one. “Here’s how we make decisions. Here’s who influences what. Here’s when we expect pushback.” Clarity dissolves most friction.

2. Relationship-First Business

Turkish business prioritizes relationship-building before transaction. Initial meetings establish trust, not just agenda items. American business is task-focused. Meetings have objectives; relationship builds alongside.

A Turkish director arriving for a product strategy meeting expects 20 minutes of personal context before business discussion. An American counterpart sees that as inefficient. This isn’t a values difference — it’s a process difference. Acknowledge it upfront.

3. Documentation vs. Implicit Understanding

Turkish organizations operate with less written documentation. Authority is often implicit. American business documents everything — procedures, expectations, decision rationale. This exists for legal and operational clarity.

When a Turkish executive finds a 50-page expense report procedure, they’ll question it. When they propose informal agreements, legal teams say no. Both responses are rational for their contexts.

4. Authority and Questioning

In Turkish organizations, questioning authority carries risk. If your boss states something, disagreement is risky. American culture frames challenge-asking as healthy engagement. When a Turkish executive stays silent in meetings — a sign of respect — Americans read it as disengagement.

5. Long-Term vs. Quarterly Orientation

Turkish family businesses operate on multi-decade horizons. Quarterly earnings pressure is different when you’re planning for 30-year succession. American public companies live on quarterly cycles. That creates different decision speed and risk tolerance.

The mismatch is solvable through explicit expectations, but it’s worth naming.

Visa and Entity Considerations

Turkish executives typically need H-1B visas for specialty occupation employment:

• Labor Condition Application (LCA) filed with Department of Labor
• Prevailing wage certification
• USCIS petition approval
• Processing time: 2-4 months from filing

For C-level roles or specialized technical positions, L-1 visas (intracompany transfer) are often superior. If the Turkish company maintains operations and the executive has worked there for one year, the US subsidiary can transfer them. Timeline: 30-60 days.

Entity structuring: If a Turkish conglomerate is establishing US operations, they need a US tax ID, state compliance, and often local legal counsel. Standard procedure, but adds cost and timeline.

Compensation Gap

A managing director or operations executive in Istanbul earning $150,000-$180,000 annually (salary plus benefits) will expect $200,000-$240,000 in a US role. The gap reflects cost of living, visa costs, relocation, and loss of social benefits subsidy.

In Turkey, employers provide quasi-pension schemes and health benefits subsidized by the state. In the US, these costs shift to employee or employer. Additionally, a Turkish executive paying ~20% in taxes faces ~35-40% in the US (federal, state, FICA, Medicare).

For directors and VPs in manufacturing, supply chain, and sales, expect compensation of $220,000-$320,000 base, plus standard US benefits (401k, health insurance, equity where applicable). Bonus structures tend to be more aggressive in the US, which is attractive to Turkish executives accustomed to smaller annual bonuses.

Key Industries and Talent Pools

Turkish executives are most available in:

Manufacturing and Operations: Turkey’s construction industry and heavy manufacturing base produce experienced operations executives. They understand lean manufacturing, multi-site coordination, and cost optimization.

Textiles and Supply Chain: With $13 billion in annual textile exports, Turkey’s sector produces supply chain leaders with deep international experience.

Food and Agriculture Processing: Turkish food executives understand complex import/export compliance and agricultural supply chains. These transition well to US food companies and importers.

Automotive and Components: Turkish automotive suppliers place executives in US roles across parts manufacturing and logistics.

Construction and Real Estate: Turkish real estate executives are increasingly active in US mixed-use development and commercial projects.

We’ve placed Turkish talent across all these sectors. The pattern is consistent: they’re operationally sophisticated and adaptable.

The Governance Transition: Your Competitive Advantage

The family-to-corporate governance shift in Turkish conglomerates is creating unprecedented talent availability. It’s happening simultaneously across multiple major companies, flooding the market with trained executives who’ve never had to compete openly.

These are 35-55 year-old executives with P&L responsibility, cross-border experience, and proven track records. They’re disciplined because family business culture rewards reliability, execution, and relationship maintenance. Put them in a system that rewards those qualities explicitly, and you get strong performance.

Your Next Step

Turkish talent is underutilized in the American market. The trade relationship is real. The talent pool is real. The friction points are manageable.

If you’re hiring for C-level operations, supply chain, or regional leadership roles with complex cross-border requirements, Turkish executives offer depth.

Let’s discuss your specific hire.

Learn More

• How We Work — Our process for executive search and placement
• Meeting with the CEO — Direct conversation about hiring needs
• Executive Recruiters in New York (NYC)
• Executive Recruiters in Houston, TX
• Executive Recruiters in Boston, MA
• Our Fees

Despite these headwinds, Turkish investment in the U.S. continues to grow, particularly in food processing, textiles, electronics manufacturing, and defense-adjacent industries. The Economist Intelligence Unit projects that Turkish FDI into the United States will increase by 15–20% annually through 2030 as Turkish conglomerates diversify away from Middle Eastern markets. For executive search, this means a sustained pipeline of mandates for American general managers, compliance officers, and commercial leaders who can build U.S. operations from the ground up.

The bilateral relationship has experienced significant volatility since 2016, including the S-400 missile crisis, CAATSA sanctions, and fluctuating diplomatic temperatures. For Turkish firms hiring in the U.S., this geopolitical uncertainty creates a paradoxical hiring dynamic: they need American executives with strong government relations skills precisely because the political environment is unpredictable, yet the political uncertainty itself can deter top-tier candidates from accepting positions with Turkish-owned companies.

Turkey's unique geographic position — straddling Europe and Asia, with cultural ties to Central Asia, the Middle East, and the Balkans — gives Turkish firms a distinctive value proposition in the U.S. market. Turkish construction firms, in particular, have used this geographic versatility to win projects from the Middle East to Africa to the Americas. As they build permanent U.S. operations, they need American executives who understand federal procurement, Davis-Bacon wage requirements, and OSHA compliance in ways that project managers based in Istanbul cannot.

The concept of 'family business internationalization' — explored by Melin, Nordqvist, and Sharma in SAGE Handbook of Family Business (2013) — is essential for understanding how Turkish firms approach U.S. hiring. Unlike Anglo-Saxon public companies with professional boards, Turkish firms entering the U.S. often retain strong family control and expect American executives to operate within implicit authority structures that may not be documented in formal job descriptions. The executive recruiter's challenge is finding American managers who can deliver results within this cultural context without losing their own operational effectiveness.

Turkey's economic transformation from an agrarian state to the world's 17th-largest economy is a story of entrepreneurial dynamism often overlooked in Western business literature. As Daron Acemoglu and Murat Üçer analyzed in The Turkish Economy: Structural Challenges and the Way Forward (Brookings Institution, 2015), the Turkish private sector's growth from the 1980s onward was driven by 'Anatolian Tigers' — family-owned businesses from central Turkey that evolved into export-oriented industrial groups. These firms, organized around groups like TUSIAD and MUSIAD, now form the backbone of Turkish investment in the United States.

Turkey's Global Business Ambitions and the American Market