Ethan Mert KACMAZ
Biography
Parent, La Châtaigneraie Secondary
Ethan Mert Kacmaz, a dual American / Turkish national, is the proud parent of two children (Year 11 and Year 8) at our Ecolint la Chataigneraie campus.
Professionally, Ethan Mert is the Chief Procurement Officer of Nielsen IQ, and holds a Board Director / Governance position for Nielsen IQ Europe Sarl; based in Petit Lancy, Geneva. NielsenIQ (NIQ) is the world’s leading consumer intelligence (data and tech) company, providing a comprehensive "Full View" of consumer buying behavior, market share, and retail performance across 100+ countries.
Before Nielsen, Ethan Mert served in executive leadership roles in procurement, finance and supply chain across Mars Inc, Duracell Inc (a Berkshire Hathaway Company), and Procter and Gamble, and worked and lived in UK, Turkey, USA and Switzerland with his family.
He earned a BSc on Industrial Engineering from METU (Ankara, Turkey) and holds an MSc on Supply Chain Engineering and Logistics from University of Warwick, UK and an MBA from Ohio State University - Fisher College of Business.
Ethan Mert was involved in American School of London fundraising projects, gets energy from developing/mentoring procurement talent, and he is an avid glider pilot (summer) and snowboarder (winter).
What are your main motivations for becoming a Board member?
I strive to balance self, family, work/career and community throught my life journey. Since we moved to Switzerland last year, I have been heavily focused on settling the family in a new country/culture/language/school system and career (new company, new culture, new role).
This board position is an amazing opportunity to balance missing links: to give, add value, learn along the way and better embed myself/my family into the local community.
What skills/expertise would you bring to the Governing Board?
- Governance
- Fundraising
- Financial management and oversight
- Sustainability
- Use of technology and data as a mean to drive transformational change
- Strengthening diversity, equity and inclusion
In light of the Ecolint Governing Board’s interest in primarily seeking individuals with skills/expertise/experience in financial management, governance, and fundraising, please share concrete examples of how your experience would be relevant, and how this could benefit Ecolint.
I've been managing up to $7B /year 3rd party contracts/budgets for some of the largest/well known FMCG giants like P&G, Duracell (a Berkshire Hathaway Company), Mars and recently for Nielsen IQ. I also held P&L and board of director responsibilities in private and publicly traded companies. Such accountability comes with a high degree of responsibility to do the right thing, and make sure the money is spent right. During our 3 years in London, I was involved in American School of London's annual/bi-annual fundraising activities as well. I believe I can bring those skills, experiences and expertise to add value on Ecolint's financial management, governance and fundraising needs.
How would you support the mission of the Foundation if you are elected to the Governing Board? Emphasising the skills/expertise that were highlighted above, and other leadership and soft skills you would bring to the Board Governing.
As a globe-throttling procurement/supply chain/finance executive, I can support the foundation's mission to educate students to be global citizens with the courage and capacity to create a just and joyful tomorrow together. Beyond the skills/experiences highlighted on the question above, I am hoping to bring data/tech/transformation/change management know-how; and maybe a bit of incremental diversity of thought to the board. I am keen on helping the board on its journey towards high performance collaboration, to become a true powerhouse to elevate foundations mission even higher.
Finally, could you describe your understanding of relationships within the Governing Board and your approach to the Governing Board culture? How do you imagine the collaboration between the Board members with other stakeholders such as staff, other parents and the local community?
I've transitioned in and out of companies, geographies and leadership teams with very diverse ways of working and culture and dynamics throughout my 20+ years of professional career - which will guide my approach to this board role. I will engage, be curious, listen/seek to understand, learn about the Board culture / team dynamics as well as across stakeholders groups. I will focus on balancing my bias for action, and hold on forming pre-mature opinions, judgements; and make sure I collect various differing perspectives on specific task/issue/challenge at hand.