The bust of Akbank Chairperson Erol Sabancı, an analogue of which is available among the family busts in Sabancı Museum’s garden, is to welcome from now on his employees at the Sabancı Centre entrance as well. Caused to be built by the British Sculpture David Cregeen, the bronze bust was inaugurated at the entrance of the Akbank building, as a gift of the Akbank shareholders to Erol Sabancı at the 60th anniversary of the Bank.
Rendering a speech at the inauguration ceremony, Sabancı Holding Chairperson Güler Sabancı said that Akbank had consistently recorded new achievements under the helm of Mr. Erol Sabancı.
“The 60-year history of Akbank and the 45 years of Mr. Erol Sabancı at the Bank were intermingled with each other. Akbank, which had begun operation as a small local bank 60 years ago today, on 30 January 1948, moved its Central Office to Istanbul in year 1954.
In 1963, Erol Sabancı was elected as a Director of Akbank. At that time Akbank had 63 branches, and was the smallest of the four major private banks. Upon being passed to the management of Mr. Sabancı, Akbank started to grow rapidly and securely, backed by the stability provided by the Sabancı Group, its main shareholder. Akbank has reached its current position under the provident steering of Mr. Erol Sabancı. We are grateful to him on behalf of our Group.”
Talking of the belief of late Mr. Sakip Sabancı in the idea of having busts of worthy people sculptured while they are alive, Güler Sabancı continued: “Late Mr. Sakip Sabancı used to wish the worthy people to be appreciated, and such appreciation to be demonstrated while they were alive. Therefore he tried to ensure that busts of successful people be sculptured and placed, while they were still alive, at entrance spaces of the places they had laboured and worked most, in order that they were remembered by everybody.”
Akbank General Manager Zafer Kurtul said in his speech at the ceremony that the principles with which Akbank and its employees were provided by Mr. Erol Sabancı played an essential role in the success of Akbank. Kurtul continued as follows:
“Mr. Sabancı guided us and our organisation by sharing both his experiences and his vision for the future. Mr. Sabancı showed us how the relationship between the risk and the yield was to be built. The banking concept of Mr. Sabancı is based on highly robust values and principles, which values and principles Akbank will never give up transmitting from one generation to another, and make live forever. Akbank will thus be very successful in the future as well. Mr. Sabancı founded both the past and the future of Akbank.”
Kurtul ended his speech this way:
“Mr. Erol Sabancı, here and today we want to give you as a gift this bust of yours as a sign of the fact that we do still and will always remember the stones you laid in the foundation of Akbank.”
Following the speeches, the bust of Erol Sabancı was unveiled jointly by Güler Sabancı, and Akbank Managing Director Suzan Sabancı Dinçer.