Funda Çetin, strategy, sustainability and innovation executive director at Tüpraş, is one of the 100 leading corporate venturing professionals in our 2026 Powerlist.
Funda Çetin’s promotion to executive director of strategy, sustainability and innovation at Tüpraş this year marks the culmination of nearly a decade spent shaping the corporate venturing strategy of Türkiye’s leading refining company.
In addition to leading the commercial piloting of new technologies and business models through venture building, incubation and open innovation initiatives, Çetin has pioneered a distinctive approach to corporate venture capital.
Through collaborations with global peers, including through the Global Energy Council run by GCV, Tüpraş Ventures has positioned itself as a globally connected innovation platform.
Çetin now oversees the company’s broader sustainability and climate change agenda, supporting Tüpraş’s mission to become carbon-neutral by 2050.
Shortly after its establishment, Tüpraş Ventures began investing globally alongside leading venture capital and corporate investors, building a diversified portfolio across the US and Europe, while remaining headquartered in Türkiye.
Since its launch in December 2022, Tüpraş Ventures has completed several direct investments, such as Via Separations (US), Syzygy Plasmonics (US), Verdagy (US), AIS Field (TR), Aqualung Carbon Capture (NO), Ionomr Innovations (CA) and Electrified Thermal Solutions (US), in addition to limited partner commitments to leading VC funds, such as Emerald.
Beyond capital, Tüpraş provides startups with proof-of-concept (PoC) opportunities in its facilities, having completed 67 PoCs to date.
While many energy-focused CVC units still operate as distant scouts, placing minority bets with limited internal follow-through, Çetin’s approach stands apart. The emphasis extends beyond access to innovation toward building the organisational absorption capacity required to embed and scale new technologies real assets, from refineries to supply chains. In practice, this translates into closer coordination with business units, pilot projects tied to investments and a more selective, strategically aligned pipeline.
As such, the model offers a blueprint for how legacy energy companies reinvent themselves from within.
The GCV Powerlist represents the 100 individuals spearheading the future of the corporate venturing industry.
These individuals excel in terms of their venturing approach and structure, number and quality of portfolio companies and in their contributions to the corporate venturing profession.
Here’s a snapshot of their recent deals:
