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Business Leadership and Social Entrepreneurship

  Engin Ari
Businessman of the Year -a biography

 

 

 

Engin Ari (in Turkish: Engin arı), twice the Businessman of the Year (1998, 2000) for his business leadership and social entrepreneurship, and one of the pioneers of and instrumental in modernisation and financial and economic development of Cypriot-NTRC private sector business, with initiatives and contribution also to public sector business and general social progress, was born in Nicosia, Cyprus, on 10th February, 1962, of Orhan Seyfi Ari and Suzan Ari (a school-teacher and a house-wife, both, with contribution to educational and cultural progress of Cyprus), is a Turkish Cypriot - he has (with Refia Ari Woman of the Year 2003 for pioneering special needs education in Cyprus TRNC - married 1984) two sons.

Engin Ari, as founder partner of the Turkish Cypriote business Birim Computers, was a founder of North Cyprus Young Businessmen's Assciation (GIAD) and its President (1993-2000) as well of a member of its Business Ethics and Disciplinary Council (2006) and for his business leadership and social entrepreneurship is its Honorary President for life; having been on the Committee of Consultants of Turkey's Turkish Industrialists Businessmen and Managers Foundation (TUSIOV, 1995-2001) and on the board of Turkey's Supreme Council of Turkish Young Businessmen (TUGIK, 1995-2000), and (additionally to to his activities with businessmen's associations and, e.g., Directorships of Mediterranean [Akdeniz Guarantee Bank [2004-2006], Electricity Authority of Northern Cyprus [KIBTEK, 2006-2007]), he was a member of the Cypriot-NTRC Committee for the Determining of Minimum Wage (1994-2001) and of the Executive Committee as a Director of the Board of the Development Bank of Cyprus-TRNC (2006 2007) ~ in 1997 he sat on the Committee of Advisors to the President of Cyprus TRNC on Turkish-Greek Business Meetings held in Athens, Greece, and in 2004 a finance and economics advisor to same in relation to Turkish and Greek Cypriot peace talks at the United Nations - having represented Cyprus-TRNC on various business and trade commissions to, e.g., Turkmenistan, he was a participant in Young Europeans for Security (YES) at the Uttrecth University in the Netherlands in 1994 and at the University of Sophia in Bulgaria in 1999 on Euro-Atlantic relations - his paper in the former's case was "Communication or Confrontation in Europe? Regional Security: the Case of Cyprus."

Engin Ari, a 1984 graduate of the Eastern Mediterranean University (DAU) and civil engineer by profession, later with postgraduate study in economics researching "The Deficit Problem and its Effects on the Cypriot-TRNC economy" (1997), followed by a number of courses and a Fullbright scholarship in the USA by USAID on 'Entrepreneurship', by the Reassurance Association of America (RAA) arranged at the California State University in Sacramento (CSUS on 'The Role of Private Sector in Economic Development', and at the Institute of European Public Administration (EIPA) on 'The European Union Institution and the Legal Structure', as the general manager by political appointment and his introducing of a Quality Management System was hailed for enabling a majorly state funded Cypriot-TRNC insurance and reinsurance concern's European Union stability compatibility and the realisation of its international creditworthiness and listing in 2005 and its "golden year" with profitability for the first time since 1974 and dividends (including for previous years) for its shareholders, as well as in the field the participation of Cyprus-TRNC internationally, in the BadenBaden and Randevous de Septembre Conferences in 2006 and in the Moscow Congress 2008, at Asia-Africa and in relation to the Afro-Asian summits (2007 and [as the Managing Director of Universal Insurance since 2009] in 2010), motivating also the Cyprus-TRNC Euro-Asia visionary skills co-operation.

Engin Ari's social activities included, interested in sports, the directorship as Secretary General of the Turkish Cypriot football club YAK (1990-1992), in private sector business support and motivation with incentives in relation to Cyprus-TRNC's road safety problem in the introduction of related UNDP awareness initiatives and business initiatives to popularise tourism, and as the President of the Rotary Club (Sarayonu, 2007) the introduction of motivatory educational awards for teachers, teaching staff and schools for excellence in education and the introduction of Rotary Club arrangements and support for , e.g., music therapy, for disabled children's special needs education.

Engin Ari occasionally contributes socio-economic views in interviews with him on business and economic development and with appearances and debates on Cypriot-TRNC radio and television and much research and many articles in Cyprus-TRNC newspapers and magazines ~ the Cyprus Mail (28th May, 2000) having quoted him as considering the original Cypriot-TRNC draft intent position of Cyprus-TRNC economy in relation to the Copenhagen Criteria as needing to be worked on, acording to the Christian Science Monitor (12th June, 1996) since Cyprus's membership of the European Union he considered the European Court ruling on imports as blocking 80% of Cypriot-TRNC exports, and the BBC Turkish (16th December, 1997) reported him as considering that as having a dividing effect between the Turkish and Greek Cypriote communities.

Engin Ari's continuing social entrepreneurship and business leadership and contributions to business and economic development of his nation is frequently reported in the Cypriot news media.

 

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