Our Human Capital #Leadership #Talent #Board of Directors #Diversity #Employees #Equity #Global #HumanRights #Innovation #Management #R&D #Safety #Strategy #Transformation

Illuminating the Future
through People

The aurora borealis is a phenomenon driven by energy and movement— just like Sabancı Holding’s dynamic workforce. Our people are at the heart of transformation. We invest in continuous learning, leadership agility, and future-ready workforce programs to ensure that our people drive transformation through their expertise, collaboration, and entrepreneurial mindset. Just as auroras light up the sky, our talent lights the way forward.

Sabancı Group is shaping the future with the strength of its diverse, skilled, and future-ready workforce.

As of December 2024, Sabancı Group provides employment to over 60 thousand individuals worldwide, including subcontractor employees. With a strong commitment to global leadership, the Group continues to invest in its people-cultivating a culture of purpose and high performance that unites employees around shared goals. As enablers of transformation across all business areas, Sabancı Group employees play a central role in driving sustainable growth and long-term value creation.

DISTRIBUTION OF
WORKFORCE
BY GENDER
69%Male 31%Female
DISTRIBUTION OF MANAGERIAL ROLE
BY GENDER
56%Male 44%Female

Our Human Capital Strategy

Sabancı Group’s three-year human resources roadmap focuses on five key pillars to guide its human capital strategy. These pillars define how we attract, grow, and empower our people across the organization, reinforcing our leadership in sustainability, innovation, and purpose-driven transformation.

 

SABANCI GROUP HUMAN CAPITAL STRATEGY

1Attract and Retain the Best Talent Ever
2Establish a Fast, Flexible, Fluid Organization
3Build a Purpose Driven, High Performance Culture
4Enable Orchestrator Leadership for Teams
5Create a Human Touch for Sustainable Lives

 

Empowering Human Capital


At Sabancı Group, the development of human capital is a cornerstone of our organizational strategy. We are committed to fostering a culture of continuous learning and professional growth that empowers our employees to reach their full potential. In 2024, we significantly invested in training and development programs, reflecting our dedication to enhancing the skills and capabilities of our workforce. Through comprehensive training initiatives and a robust career management framework, we aim to nurture talent, reward high performance, and ensure that every employee, regardless of their role or status, has opportunities for growth and advancement within the Group.

TOTAL TRAINING HOURS*
1.7 million hours Training Provided to Employees
32 hours Average Training per Employee
TL 408 million Total Training
Investments
5,713 hours Diversity and Inclusion Training
88,304 hours Training Provided for Sub-contractors**
45,490 hours Sustainability and Environment Training
35,593 hours Anti-bribery and Corruption Training
15,844 hours Ethics Training

 

*OHS trainings are not included.
**Includes Brisa, Kordsa, Enerjisa Üretim

Leadership Model Transformation


In 2024, we renewed the Sabancı Leadership Model through a collective and participatory process.

The new model focuses on building future-ready leaders who act as ecosystem orchestrators, drive growth, enable transformation, and strengthen connections across the organization.

This shift redefined leadership beyond managing teams, placing greater emphasis on collaboration, innovation, and ecosystem thinking. Succession planning and leadership assessments were updated to reflect this evolving vision and ensure alignment with the Group’s long-term strategy.

 

Leadership Development Programs

Program
Objective
Duration
Number of Participants
TP-X
Supports high-potential individuals new to their business careers and the Group.
1.5 YEARS
25
X-POSURE
Improves the leadership potential of Sabancı Group mid level managers.
1.5 YEARS
23
PROGRAM FOR TP-X GRADUATES
Empowers TP-X graduates through leadership development certificate programs for top global universities.
1.5 YEARS
7
PROGRAM FOR X-POSURE GRADUATES
Empowers X-POSURE graduates through Columbia Business School’s Executive Program in Management.
1.5 YEARS
5
SABANCI TRANSFORMATION TEAM (SATT) PROGRAM
Sabancı Holding Executive Board Members and Company General Managers drive the Group’s transformation. The 2024 SATT Meetings, including an away day in London from Oct 8-11 themed “Creating Value,” fostered an investor mindset and explored key growth drivers through immersive experiences.global universities.
4 times a year
32
HR JOURNEY
Supports Group HR leaders by incorporating global perspectives and methods to prepare them for a future-ready ecosystem.
1 YEAR
24
X-CELERATE
Supports CXO leaders’ transformation and deepens their global leadership perspective.
1.5 YEARS
2 cohorts of 22 each
SABANCI MINDS
Sabancı Group Top Management meet to discuss leadership approaches to drive impact in a rapidly changing world.
Once a year
~200

 

The Sustainability Academy


We launched the Sustainability Academy in 2024 to provide employees with in-depth, structured sustainability training aimed at fostering a mindset shift toward environmental and social impact, governance awareness, and sustainable leadership.

The launch of the Academy marked a significant milestone in our journey to embed ESG competencies across Sabancı Group. More than just a training initiative, it serves as a foundational platform for cultivating a sustainability mindset. By ensuring that environmental, social, and governance principles become integral to how every employee thinks, decides, and leads, the Academy strengthens our commitment to long-term, sustainable impact.

Recognition as a Global Employer


Our efforts were globally recognized. Sabancı Holding was ranked 405th on TIME’s “World’s Best Companies 2024” list as the top-ranked Turkish company, and was also featured in Forbes’ “World’s Best Employers 2024.”

A Purpose-Based Performance Culture


A transparent, agile, and collaborative performance system based on Objective Key Results (OKRs) and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) ensures regular feedback and employee development. In 2024, 100% of Group employees received performance evaluations. Beyond metrics, we placed strong emphasis on career conversations and goal-setting dialogues between employees and leaders to create meaningful moments for alignment, reflection, and aspiration. The performance process expanded to include continuous check-ins, developmental feedback sessions, and structured tools for tracking progress and recognizing contributions. With these practices, we shifted from evaluation to empowerment, ensuring that every employee has a voice, a direction, and a path to grow within a purpose-based performance culture.

Remuneration - A Total Reward Model

Incentive Plans Linked to Sustainable Value Creation


We offer both Short-Term Incentive (STI) and Long-Term Incentive (LTI) plans to align performance with strategic goals and drive sustainable value creation. Our STI program enables employees to focus on achieving key financial and non-financial objectives. The LTI program is designed for a defined group of senior executives, encouraging long-term value creation, strengthening alignment with shareholder interests, and rewarding sustained performance and stability.

Each year, the Board of Directors reviews and defines long-term KPIs for the senior management team. The long-term bonus system covers a consecutive three year performance period, with the bonus paid at the end of the relevant cycle. A Malus and Clawback framework is defined for both short- and long-term incentive systems and is applied to all Executive Committee members (Holding CEO, Group Presidents, SBU Presidents) and Group company CEOs who benefit from the bonus system.

KPIs for variable remuneration in 2024 are as follows:

For detailed information on each pillar of our Human Capital Strategy and initiatives in 2024, please download Our Human Capital Section.

Human Rights, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

With a workforce of over 60 thousand employees globally, including subcontractors, Sabancı Group is committed to becoming a global leader by harnessing the power of its diverse and talented human capital. Our vision is grounded in a strong respect for human rights and a dedication to equal opportunity, enabling us to shape a more inclusive and resilient future with confidence.

As part of our Responsible Investment Policy and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Regulation, we have established clear governance tools that articulate overarching approach and firm stance on responsible conduct across our investments, human rights practices, and DEI initiatives.

At Sabancı Group, 31% of our employees and 44% of our managers are women. We are continuously working to improve these figures and ensure equal opportunities for all.

We commit to increase the women leaders to 50% by 2030, meaning a 32% increase compared to 2020 figures, which was already aligned with the EU average.

We commit to increase the number of women in both STEM and revenue-generating roles to 50% by 2030.

33% STEM Roles*
45% Revenue Generating Manager Roles**

*Science, technology, engineering, and math
**Revenue-generating jobs refer to ones that when vacant, no revenue is generated.

Human Rights

At Sabancı Group, we are committed to promoting human rights across our operations and value chain. We support and respect international standards and ensure compliance through our Responsible Investment Policy, Sabancı Group Code of Business Ethics, and other internal regulations.

The Due Diligence Process within the scope of Responsible Investment Policy’s Investment section refers to the analysis carried out to determine the compliance of the Group companies’ prioritized areas of value chains.

Within this context, some activities defined in the Policy are prohibited due to violations of local and international legislation, particularly those related to environmental protection, occupational health and safety, and human rights. This includes employing workers below the legal minimum wage, obstructing unionization, violating principles of equal and fair treatment, and employing child labor or engaging in forced labor and human trafficking. Activities leading to the displacement or rights violations of vulnerable and indigenous populations without consent are banned, as are those involving abuse, fraud, bribery, and corruption.

In 2024, several Sabancı Group companies significantly advanced their human rights due diligence processes, aligning their efforts with international standards such as the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, ILO Conventions, and OECD Guidelines.

Occupational Health and Safety Management

Embracing the principle of ‘Occupational Health and Safety First,’ we emphasize the importance of employee wellbeing.

This commitment to excellence is reflected in both the Group’s workforce and stakeholders. With this understanding, we ensure compliance with relevant legislation and internal standards for employee health and safety.

We are committed to continually enhancing and standardizing employee health and safety practices through comprehensive training and knowledge transfer. In all our operations, we comply with relevant legal and regulatory requirements while also proactively integrating global trends and best practices in Occupational Health and Safety (OHS).

For detailed information on our actions and initiatives regarding Human Rights, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Occupational Health and Safety Management, please download Our Human Capital Section.

 

Download Our Human Capital Section