About me

With over 27 years of rich and diverse experience — including 22 years at Unilever, a global leader in the FMCG sector — Ilgün Kurucu Ekinci brings both depth and heart to everything she does. Throughout her career, she’s held a wide range of local and international roles in Manufacturing, R&D, and Quality, working across different categories and cultures. She has led cross-functional and virtual teams, contributed to strategic leadership agendas, and delivered results in areas such as quality systems, food safety, industrial performance, e-commerce logistics, contract manufacturing, and new product development. From large-scale factory expansions to capability-building programs, Ilgün is known for combining strategic thinking with grounded, hands-on leadership.

In addition to her corporate experience, Ilgün is a certified coach and facilitator. Since 2017, she has been supporting leaders, technical experts, and early-career professionals in developing self-awareness, empathy, communication, and motivation. Her coaching draws on her strong foundation in Gestalt psychology, Transactional Analysis, and Logotherapy — blending psychological insight with practical experience.

Ilgün is also trained in facilitation and  works with teams to design and guide strategic workshops that foster alignment, creativity, and collaboration. Her facilitation work helps teams surface key issues, make thoughtful decisions, and move forward with shared clarity and purpose.

In addition to her professional coaching work, she is actively engaged in social responsibility initiatives, particularly supporting universitiy students, women leaders and gifted children and their families through coaching and specialized training programs.

Her current focus areas include:

Leadership coaching for technical professionals; Career transitions and executive development; Women in leadership; Emotional intelligence and inclusive leadership.