Brand builder

Expat executive presents lifestyle options through his company’s appliance products

Business major

He initially wanted to become a pilot, but instead pursued an international business degree at San Francisco State University.

Sports buff

Gunal communicates regularly via video with his family, who remain in Turkey. He enjoys sports, as well as listening to rock and jazz music.

FOR Gurhan Gunal, country manager of appliance

purveyor Beko Pilipinas Corp., travel will always be an indispensable part of his work and life.

Gunal grew up in Istanbul, Turkey, the son of a lawyer, who also owned a textile production and retail business, and a teacher. He had always wanted to become a pilot, which was, perhaps, driven by a curiosity about cultures other than his own.

Unfortunately, Gunal did not make the cut for the pilots’ entrance exam. So he did the next best thing: he earned a degree in international business.

Different journey

After graduating from San Francisco State University in 2005, Gunal became a marketing specialist for American telecommunications company Ameritel, staying for only seven months. He then landed a job as an export specialist at French industrial company Lafarge, which owns a plant in Turkey. It was this job, he says, that allowed him to travel frequently to East and Central Asia, as well as the Balkans, among many other destinations.

At Lafarge, he handled sales and business development activities for countries like Russia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates and Libya. He also explored and studied potential investment opportunities. “This acquainted me with other countries,” he says. “I was meeting up with local business owners there. It was a fun and different journey, and I liked it.”

In 2010, he joined Beko, a brand associated with appliance manufacturer Arcelik, owned by Koç Holding, a top Turkish investment company and the sole Turkish company included in the Fortune 500. Beko products, which are sold in over 140 countries, are popular in markets such as the UK, Romania, Poland and, of course, Turkey.

GUNAL WAS fiRST PUT IN CHARGE OF STRENGTHENING Beko’s presence in South Asia, particularly in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and the Maldives. He was also involved in Beko’s expansion efforts in India and an investment project in Pakistan, both of which were very successful. “That was how I was able to explore South Asia,” he says. He later became marketing manager for north and central Africa.

The 41-year-old enjoys immensely the perks of being a Beko employee. “It gives me a chance to learn more about other cultures,” he explains. “The more you engage with a new culture, the more you learn about the people of that culture, such as their history, way of life, and even food.”

Initially, Beko products entered the local market in mid-2015 through the ubiquitous SM Appliance Centers. Gunal arrived in Manila in 2019 to set up Beko Pilipinas, and since then, the brand has been expanding steadily with partnerships with dealers in key cities across the country, focusing on product distribution and brand awareness. The brand’s tagline, “Everyone can live a healthy life,” encapsulates what its products are designed to do: balance healthy living with convenience.

In international business, you need to be honest with your customers. You’re representing a global company and your word is much stronger than written documents.”

Learning curve

“MY GOAL IS TO SET THE COMPANY flAG TO THE HIGHEST level possible in whatever market we operate in, and not just in terms of sales and turnover rate,” Gunal declares. “Beko is not only a brand. It represents our company culture in terms of management, products and lifestyle for inner [internal] customers, such as our own employees.”

He continues: “It also aims to provide the best lifestyle options that an appliance brand can offer customers.”

According to Gunal, the challenges he faces in his current assignment are somewhat complex. “There’s no English [language] barrier, but the culture [in the Philippines] is very unique,” he reports. “Although [the people] are very friendly, the business environment is [quite] competitive.”

Gunal admits that the local market presents a steep learning curve. His goals include establishing a proper, well-operating and lean subsidiary; creating brand awareness; and negotiating reasonable and considerable market share.

As the world enters its second year of the Covid-19 pandemic, Beko Philippines continues to grapple WITH SIGNIfiCANT CHALLENGES. “[WE WERE AFFECTED] BIG TIME,” GUNAL REVEALS. “WE HAD JUST OPENED OUR SUBSIDiary on March 1, 2020, and we were fully functional. But on March 19, the lockdown happened, so the company had no choice but to freeze operations.”

Fortunately, Beko is a global company with a strong fiNANCE STRUCTURE, WHICH MAKES GUNAL SAY: “WE WILL do better, I hope, this year.”

Gunal’s previous jobs and experience in overseeing the brand at the regional level provides this country manager insights that he believes work to his advantage. “In international business, you need to be honest with your customers,” he adds. “You’re representing a global company, and your word is much stronger than written documents, so I always hold on to my promises and my words.”

“I believe as professionals, we receive lots of opPORTUNITIES TO ENGAGE WITH OTHER PEOPLE, WHICH I fiND highly valuable,” he continues. “Engagement with colleagues, with other companies and with customers, brings lots of lessons that make it very useful in READING TODAY’S WORLD. THAT’S SOMETHING I fiND VERY interesting.”

Since Beko is a global brand, Gunal’s job entails visiting multiple countries for three or more days at a time. “[I am] never tired of working hard and traveling,” he remarks. “I like my work. It motivates me.”

Gunal’s wife and child have remained in Turkey in the meantime, but he makes sure to communicate with them through regular video calls. He enjoys playing football and basketball and riding his bike, as well as listening to rock and jazz music. Of his previous travels, he cites various trips around North Africa, Georgia in Eastern Europe and San Francisco as among his most memorable.

Covid-19 restrictions may still be affecting international movement, but that hasn’t dampened Gunal’s wanderlust. He reveals plans to explore the Philippines — “every corner” of it — while he is posted here.

THIS VETERAN TRAVELER WILL, NO DOUBT, fiND A WAY to introduce and meld Beko’s culture with the Filipinos’ own.