Ali Güreli, the founder and the Chairperson of Contemporary Istanbul, graduated from Faculty of Business Administration in Middle East Technical University.

Under his leadership, Contemporary Istanbul (20th edition in 2024) has become one of Türkiye’s leading “soft power” brands. Prior to Contemporary Istanbul, from 2001 to 2005, Güreli served as the founder and Chairperson of Art Istanbul, Türkiye’s first contemporary art fair.

As one of the founding partners of the Istanbul Lütfi Kırdar International Convention and Exhibition Center (ICEC), he served as Vice Chairperson between 1993 and 2002 and has continued to hold this position since 2019.

From 1989 to 2002, he served on the Board of Directors of The Marmara Hotel Group. Between 1994 and 2001, he was the Founding Chairperson of the Turkish Hoteliers Association (TÜROB). From 2004 to 2011, he was the founder and Chairperson of the Board of Sofa Hotels and Residences, Türkiye’s first contemporary art hotel.

He is currently the Vice President of the Turkish Tourism Investors Association (TTYD) and a Board Member of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) Turkey.

Ali Güreli has a great passion to enhance the position of Istanbul as a cultural translator between geographies and with Contemporary Istanbul, he is proud to fulfill this mission through art. His entrepreneurial energy and enthusiasm spread across a wide array of projects to encounter new opportunities and development possibilities.