Background

After graduation, Şahenk returned to Istanbul, where his father, Ayhan Şahenk (1929–2001), sent him to apprentice at Doğuş" Garanti Bank.

Education

Şahenk graduated from The American School in Switzerland (TASIS) and earned his Bachelors from Boston College, Boston, Massachusetts, United States. with a degree in Marketing and Human Resources in 1989.

Career

After eight years he moved to the holding company, and beginning in 1998, he has acquired two food retail chains and operated NTV by funding the expansion by selling part of the group"s Garanti Bank to the public. Understanding that top talent is essential to running a diverse group, he also created a recruitment division, Humanitas. Revenues for 1999 at privately held Doğuş Group hit $5.7 billion.

In May 2000, he instituted centralized back-office operations for Doğuş" multiple banks and is doing the same for its auto dealerships.

To its banking business, Şahenk added leasing, insurance and cashback reward schemes like those of Discover Card in the United States - financial services still uncommon in Turkey at the time. He attended the Owner/President Management Program at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. At the age of 37, Şahenk took over his father"s Doğuş (pronounced DOUGH-oosh, literally "birth" in Turkish) Holding after Ayhan Şahenk died of a heart attack in April 2001.

The Netto worth of the Şahenk conglomerate is around United States$ 2.5 billion, with a turnover for 2005 of United States$6 billion, employing about 18,000 people. He relinquished some control of the Garanti Bank, selling a quarter of the country"s third largest bank to General Electric for $1.6 billion in 2004, which was regarded as an important step towards greater liberalization in the Turkish banking sector, which had been severely affected by the 2001 economic crisis.

He also runs Turkish media properties capturing more than 10 percent of country"s advertising market.

The flattering of the government and Turkish Prime Minister with his acquired media tools has been widely criticized and protested by Turkish citizens. Bankrolled Gallipoli, a movie about the seminal Turkish military battle against the Allied offensive. On January 28, 2006 Şahenk threw a reception during the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

In May 2006, Şahenk was elected Chairman of the Executive Board of the Turkish-United States. Business Council, a Turkish business group that promotes trade and business relationships between the two countries.

He has relatives living in Crimea (Ukraine) and Uzbekistan. Ferit is a Fenerbahçe fan and been board member under Aziz Yıldırım president between 2000-2002 and also sponsored Moussa Sow transfer for the club

Achievements

• Also his cousin Melis Şahenk is a famous designer who won various competitions in Madrid and studying in Universidad Complutense de Madrid.