Yıldız Holding Rewards “Stars of the Year” for the 15th Time
Yıldız Holding celebrated the 15th year of its "Stars of the Year Award Ceremony", where its companies compete with valuable projects. 236 project applications were received for the competition, which awards projects focused on business results as well as those creating social impact. The winners were chosen by the votes of the Holding's 75,000 employees and the main jury.
The traditional “Stars of the Year Award Ceremony”, bringing together Yıldız Holding employees from all around the world as well as Turkey, was held at the Ülker Sports and Event Hall.
The program began with a moment of silence in memory of the Yıldız Holding employees and citizens who died in the Kahramanmaraş and Hatay earthquakes, followed by a speech by İbrahim Taşkın, Head of Global Legal Affairs and Government Relations & Board Member of Yıldız Holding, on the earthquake aid provided by Yıldız Holding throughout the year with its "Make Happy, Be Happy" approach. Sabancı Holding CEO Cenk Alper, who attended the award ceremony as a guest, also gave a speech on sustainability.
Mehmet Tütüncü: “We will continue to generate value and increase social benefits”
At the ceremony, Mehmet Tütüncü, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of Yıldız Holding, who gave an inspiring speech on leadership in a changing world, said, “Our 15th Year Stars of the Year Award Ceremony, which reveals the value created by innovative projects implemented with collective wisdom in line with our participatory leadership understanding, is a concrete example of our sustainable success. As a constantly learning and agile organization, we added new categories suitable for the spirit of the times to our award program this year. Under today's conditions, no person or institution can be successful alone. The connections we build are as important as the networks we belong to, and success is only possible with collaboration."
Tütüncü continued: “As we determine our direction in a constantly changing and uncertain business world, we have always been open to relearning, which is embedded in our DNA. In line with our ‘Make Happy, Be Happy’ understanding, which acts like a compass that ensures we all move in the same direction, we maintained our sustainable success by drawing strength from our global values at Yıldız Holding. We will continue to reveal our potential in terms of productivity, digitization, and human-centricity, continue to grow profitably, and generate value. Our employees, who are the stars of both this year and the future, will play the leading role in this transformation. Including myself, I ask you to be open to collaboration and inspiration, to act with courage, and to create opportunities to celebrate our shared success, as we do today."
Ali Ülker: “We continue our efforts with the aim of contributing to a sustainable future”
Ali Ülker, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Yıldız Holding, who sees the Stars of the Year Awards Ceremony, which encourages innovation and sustainability on a global scale, as a source of pride, said, "Today, the success of companies is measured not only by their financial performance but also by their talent management, societal investments, and value creation that ensures the sustainability of the business. At Yıldız Holding, we continue our efforts to create value in our entire ecosystem and transform together with our ‘This World is Ours’ sustainability vision. This year, I have designated the Chairman's Special Award as Environmental Sustainability."
Expressing the need to act today and make more efforts to leave a more livable future for future generations, Ülker stated that he wanted to reward projects that designed with holistic view, go beyond saving and contribute to society. Ali Ülker, who congratulated the 16 finalist teams, added that he expects projects with a higher impact for a sustainable future.
The Carbon Footprint of the Event is Neutralized
Yıldız Holding, which carries out its activities with a "net zero" carbon emission target for 2050, neutralized the carbon footprint resulting from the event in collaboration with the Sustainability Academy.
Winners of the 15th Stars of the Year Awards:
Contribution to Growth: Kerevitaş – “SuperFresh Growth Strategy in Hard Discount Channel”
Operational Excellence: pladis Turkey – “Number 1 of Quality Ülker Chocolate”
Best Performing Marketing Campaign: Kerevitaş – “SuperFresh Journey with Refika Birgül”
Best Market Share Gain in Category or Trade: pladis Turkey – “Ülker Chocolate Big Tablet Platform”
Innovation pladis United Kingdom – “Blissfuls”
Digital Transformation: ŞOK Markets – “e-Wallet / QR Pay”
Invest in People: Polinas Turkey – “Employee Development and Employee Experience”
Happiness: Corporate Social Responsibility: pladis Turkiye and UK – “Beyond Cocoa”
Chairman’s Special Award - “Environmental Sustainability – New Working Models”: pladis – “While no awards were given in this category, 16 projects that applied were announced at the ceremony.”
