Ahmet Guvener
Advisory Board Member for the All in Project Former CEO, Director of Soccer Development and Head of Refereeing of Turkish FA. Former member of FIFA and UEFA expert panels. Writes for Soccer America
About this speaker
AHMET GUVENER When you want to refine your standing in the marketplace with integrity, professionalism and need a pioneering approach, Ahmet Guvener is the “player” you need on your team to win! In tandem with his technology executive leadership, Ahmet gained sports management leadership in the development of soccer. This gave him the experience and reputation to lead the Turkish Soccer Federation, one of the leading federations within the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and FIFA. His range of work extends to managing a budget of $100 Million; creating, planning and executing Development programs; implementing stadium security systems to curb violence in professional soccer; developing the first Strategic Plan of the Federation; bidding for EURO 2016. Ahmet was the first Turkish member of the Panel of FIFA Referee Instructors and UEFA Referee Convention. He proceeded in leadership as Head of Refereeing, Director of Soccer Development (Chief Soccer Officer) and Secretary General of the Turkish Soccer Federation. He is the only European soccer professional that held all three positions. Along with Senes Erzik –one the most respected former member of the FIFA Council and First Vice President of UEFA- and Fatih Terim – the legendary Turkish soccer coach - he had been a facilitator in helping Turkish soccer become one of the better soccer nations in the world. Managing million dollar budgets and mega projects, Ahmet has an intrinsic aptitude for project and people management, along with team building skills with winning results. Originally trained in Computer Sciences and growing up professionally in the Information Technology industry in Turkey, Ahmet was a leader in a number of pioneering projects alongside global giants like Coopers and Lybrand, Mitsui and Nippon Steel. As the CEO of two leading software companies, he sat on the board of Turkish IT Industrialists Association with CEO’s of global IT companies like IBM, Microsoft, Siemens – Nixdorf and Oracle. Born to a family with an intellectual and academic heritage, he attended some of the best schools in Turkey and in the US including University of Wisconsin and University of Texas at Austin. He feels he owes his achievements to the values he borrowed from his family as well as his education. Now a resident of the US, Ahmet works and lives in Georgetown, TX.