Beko Europe Appoints Akın Garzanlı as New CEO

Akın Garzanlı, who previously served as CMO of Beko has been appointed as the CEO of Beko Europe

ISTANBUL, Oct. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Beko, a global leader in home appliances, today announced a new senior level appointment. Akın Garzanlı, who has been serving as Chief Marketing Officer of Beko since 2022 has been appointed as Beko Europe's CEO and Beko's Chief Commercial Officer in the Europe Region. He is taking over this role from Ragıp Balcıoğlu, who has been appointed as Beko's Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer.

Akın Garzanlı has joined Beko for over 20 years ago. In his last role, leading 22 global and local brands in more than 55 countries with a marketing team spread across a large geography and developing marketing strategies that make a difference, he had been in charge of global brand management and marketing communications, industrial design, product management, small domestic appliances, content excellence, marketing insight and analytics, and marketing growth and transformation. In addition to the marketing function, he also oversaw the Middle East, Africa, and CIS regions as of 2023.

Garzanlı started his career in 2002, when he became responsible for Beko's global markets. He has held key positions in the company's global functions, including sales, product management, marketing and customer service. In 2018, he was appointed as Global Customer Care Director, and as of 2020, he assumed the role of Global Brand Director in addition to this position.

Garzanlı graduated from St. George's Austrian High School in Istanbul and holds a bachelor's degree from Istanbul University in the field of Management. He earned his MBA from the Koç University. Garzanlı also completed several programs at Harvard Business School and Kellogg School of Management.

Akın Garzanlı has brought energy and clarity to Beko's global marketing capability, and he knows how to turn consumer insight into performance. Beko Europe has a wide brand portfolio, and Garzanlı's experience managing and growing multiple brands across markets, combined with his agile approach, will help Beko get closer to its customers and turn brand strength into further results.

 

 

** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **

Beko Europe Appoints Akın Garzanlı as New CEO

Beko Europe Appoints Akın Garzanlı as New CEO

Code Name: BlueSpot, a Go AI, is disclosed ahead of the handicap-match events in the 10th-anniversary year of the historic AlphaGo–Lee Sedol match.

NEW YORK, Jan. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Issued by Code Name: BlueSpot Operations

Code Name: BlueSpot, the Go AI that embodies novel technology, is introduced today at the dawn of the 10th-anniversary year of the historic AlphaGo–Lee Sedol match.

As the milestone year begins to unfold, planning is underway for a Handicap-Adjustment Series as the main event—a series of public matches between BlueSpot and top-tier professional Go players. The intent is straightforward: to offer a clear perspective on the current discourse around AI—particularly the "AI bubble" narrative and its underlying assumptions—and to place demonstrable performance above private, unverifiable claims.

As a preliminary step, an Open Test—not a closed evaluation—in handicap-adjustment format is being prepared for the first half of 2026 (targeting March). It will be live-streamed online, feature multiple professional players drawn from a disclosed ranking range, and proceed under official refereeing. The venue will be announced in late January; final venue arrangements are underway across a small set of East Asian host locations.

BlueSpot is presented at this stage only as a code name. Further details will be disclosed with the main event. For the latest updates, visit https://codenamebluespot.com (Short link: https://cblue.spot).

 

** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **

10 Years Since AlphaGo, Code Name: BlueSpot Disclosed Ahead of Handicap-Match Events