Can Kıraç has passed away

Can Kıraç, the older brother of businessman İnan Kıraç, one of the prominent figures of Koç Holding, has passed away at the age of 97.

Can Kıraç had been receiving treatment in the hospital for some time due to health issues.

WHO IS CAN KIRAÇ?

Born on May 22, 1927, in Ankara, Can Kıraç spent his childhood in Eskişehir. Kıraç graduated from Galatasaray High School in 1946 and from the Ankara University Faculty of Agriculture in 1950. He served as the president of the National Student Federation of Turkey in 1949-50.

On August 29, 1950, he began working under Bernar Nahum at the Automotive Branch of Koç Ticaret AŞ in Ankara. In 1957, he was appointed as the assistant manager of the Egemak company in İzmir, where Vehbi Koç was a partner; in 1958, he was promoted to the position of manager of the company. Kıraç, who was among the founding partners of Koç Holding in 1963, returned to Istanbul in 1968 and began working in the holding's Automotive Group.

Kıraç joined the Koç Holding Executive Committee in 1973 and was appointed head of the Automotive Group in 1982. He became a member of the holding's Administrative Committee in 1984 and its chairman in 1987.

He also served as a member of the University Executive Committee and the Board of Trustees established by the VKV during the founding of Koç University. At the end of 1991, he retired at his own request, ending his 41-year professional career within the Koç Group.

Kıraç, who published books titled "Anılarımla Patronum Vehbi Koç" (My Boss Vehbi Koç in My Memories, 1995), "Anılar Olaylar" (Memories Events, 2004), and "Kolajlı Taşlamalar" (Collaged Satires, 2004), was elected as an honorary member by the Journalists Association of Turkey in 2006. In 2013, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by Eskişehir Osmangazi University. The books titled "Can Kıraç Antika Adam" (Can Kıraç the Antique Man) and "Can Kıraç Eldivensiz Adam" (Can Kıraç the Man Without Gloves), written by Mehmet Gündem, were published in 2017.