146: Aybala Şimşek Galpin on Hard Work, Resilience, and Professional Growth

Overview

How can we sustain our engagement in our work and make our careers regenerative?

Continuing the series of conversations about managing our work ambitions over time and at different stages of leadership, I’m joined today by Aybala Şimşek Galpin, CEO of the Turkish bank, Şekerbank.

As I’ve been introducing more perspectives about work-life integration and ambition from around the world, Aybala’s story illustrates a key point about how our environment and cultural context shape our ambitions and the pursuit of what we want for ourselves. Her career path also shows that alignment of meaning and motivation can sustain us even through periods of intense effort.

Listen below or on your favorite podcast player.

More About Our Guest

Aybala Şimşek Galpin is the Chief Executive Officer at Türkiye’s Şekerbank T.A.Ş. and also serves as a member of its Board of Directors.

Şimşek Galpin began her career in communications and in her tenure at Şekerbank has held leadership roles in several areas of the organization, including communications and brand management, strategy, digital banking, marketing and risk analytics, human resources, and sustainable development, including leading Türkiye’s first microfinance project. 

Şimşek Galpin has undergraduate degrees in both communications and business administration, a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the Faculty of Business Administration at Istanbul Bilgi University, a Masters level diploma in Financial Strategy from the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School and is a graduate of the Harvard Business School’s General Management Program.

Listen to the full episode to hear:

• What motivated Aybala to take on roles in diverse areas of the business

• How the emerging market in Türkiye shaped Aybala’s ambition

• The challenges and advantages of the Turkish market and how they build resilience

• What influences and impacts Aybala’s personal metrics of success

• The advice that Aybala shares with her younger colleagues

Learn more about Aybala Şimşek Galpin:

• Şekerbank

Resources Mentioned

• 136. The Summer Books Series: Looking For Inspiration For Your Next Step

• 141. Sustaining Ambition: Insights From France with Sandra Fillaudeau

Thanks for Listening!

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