Kurtsan Family

Niyazi Kurtsan was born on 25 July 1925 in Komotini; his grandfather Recep Ağa was among the founders of the Rumelia branch of the Committee of Union and Progress. During the Second World War he took refuge in Türkiye together with his mother, his father and his sister Sabiha Tansuğ, who would become a well-known ethnologist. The family first moved to the Akhisar district of Manisa and later settled in İzmir.

Niyazi Kurtsan first attended Afyon High School as a boarding student on a state scholarship. He went on to graduate from the Faculty of Pharmacy at Istanbul University, again on a state scholarship. He was also drawn to painting, and while studying at the Faculty of Pharmacy he attended the studio of the painter Cemal Tollu at the Academy of Fine Arts.

In those years Niyazi Kurtsan loved the pharmacy profession deeply and understood the importance of developing new products that would serve human health. After graduating in 1955, he opened Güneş Pharmacy in Kocamustafapaşa. With the products he developed in the pharmacy’s laboratory, he laid the foundations of the company he would later establish. He subsequently opened Kurtsan Laboratories in a building in Sirkeci, and in the same period moved to Büyük Pharmacy in Sirkeci.

In the early 1950s, at a time when concepts such as “natural living” and “alternative medicine” were not at all widespread, what drew the pharmacist Niyazi Kurtsan to herbal products was his belief in the healing power of nature. He described his feelings on the subject as follows:

“When I was a child I fell from a horse in the village and suffered a dangerous wound. My grandfather was a farmer; he treated me with the roots of a plant known as snake’s blade, and I came back from the brink of death. From that day on I have admired plants. They call it alternative medicine now, but for us it is a method that has been used for centuries. I made this my mission, and I have always drawn inspiration from nature while developing products to heal people.”

In 1969 Niyazi Kurtsan converted his laboratories into a joint-stock company and handed over management of the pharmacy to his wife, the pharmacist Meral Kurtsan. Over the years he created the Kurtsan Group of Companies, comprising Kurtsan İlaçları A.Ş., Kurtsan Medikal Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş., Otacı İlaç Kozmetik Besin Ticaret A.Ş. and Kurmed Uluslararası İlaç ve Kozmetik Ticaret Temsilcilik Danş. İth. İhr. Pazarlama Üretim Ltd. Şti.

In 1980 he created the “Otacı” brand (Old Turkish for pharmacist-physician). “Otacı” became a distinctive brand, the first and only one of its kind in Türkiye, combining traditional treatment methods with modern pharmaceutical technology. With Otacı Herbal Lozenges, Kurtsan İlaçları A.Ş. also obtained the first pharmaceutical patents in the domestic pharmaceutical field.

Meltem Kurtsan completed her pharmacy education at the Faculty of Pharmacy of Istanbul University. She began working at the Otacı – Kurtsan Group of Companies in the 1980s, and after roles in the R&D, Production and Quality Control departments, she served as Chair of the Board of the group between 2004 and 2013.

Between 1997 and 1999 she completed the OPM Programme at Harvard University in the United States. The same year she was named a Global Leader for Tomorrow at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos. She is the Founding President of the Women Entrepreneurs Association of Türkiye (KAGİDER), which began operating in 2002.

She continued her education in 2009–2010 with the Phytotherapy Master’s Programme in the Department of Pharmacognosy at the Faculty of Pharmacy of Istanbul University. In 2017 she attended the Clinical Aromatherapy Training organised jointly by Bezmiâlem University and the Aromatherapy Association. In 2018 she attended the certified Homeopathy Training of the Turkish Ministry of Health. As of 2019 she was elected regional director of the American National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy (NAHA).

At her farm in Bodrum, which she named HerbaFarm Akademi, she conducts research on organic living and healthy nutrition, grows natural products and medicinal plants, and organises training on subjects such as natural cosmetics, aromatherapy, natural living and ecology.

One of the third-generation representatives of the Kurtsan family, Ali Karatay Karayalçın completed his undergraduate education in the Department of Interior Architecture at Haliç University. Placing great value on academic development, Karayalçın went on to complete a Master’s degree in Business Administration at Bahçeşehir University, followed by a Master’s degree in Energy Management at the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT).

Karayalçın began his professional career in the Business Development Department at Kurtsan İlaç, where he worked in business development, project management and the improvement of corporate processes. In 2008 he joined Bang & Olufsen Türkiye as Sales & Project Manager, gaining significant experience in sales management, project development and customer experience. Between 2012 and 2018 he continued his career as Technology & Project Manager at the New York-based Plaxall Inc., working on international projects focused on technology management, project development and business process improvement.

In line with his interest in natural living, holistic health and sustainable living, he completed his training at the New York Institute of Aromatherapy and earned the title of certified aromatherapist.

Bringing together the knowledge and experience he has gained across disciplines as varied as design, business, technology, energy management and aromatherapy with an entrepreneurial mindset, Ali Karatay Karayalçın has developed projects in natural living, sustainability and value creation with an innovative perspective. He pursues this vision through the premium events he organises at Herbafarm Akademi, a 17-dönüm (approximately 1.7-hectare) ecological farm of which he is a partner, designed by the Austrian architect Georg Driendl.

Continuing his career in 2025–2026 with brand management roles for the Bang & Olufsen and Devialet brands, Karayalçın currently serves as Interior Architect and Business Development Manager at HKX Store & Dertech, where he handles the representation of premium brands such as Bang & Olufsen, Bowers & Wilkins, KNX, Crestron, Control4, M&K Sound and Weber. With a vision of carrying Kurtsan’s long-established values into the future, he also supports work focused on innovation and sustainable growth.

Dr. Saltuk Karayalçın began his education at Cheltenham College and completed his undergraduate degree in Product Design at Bournemouth University. He went on to complete a Master’s degree in Management at the London School of Economics, followed by a Doctorate in Business Administration at Geneva Business School.

Karayalçın began his career at Whirlpool Corporation, holding various roles in new product development, trade marketing and retail strategy in Italy and Türkiye. He then took on significant roles at Arçelik in retail development, store experience management, sales strategy and international business development. He worked in the Strategic Planning and Business Development department, contributing to the formulation of Arçelik’s sales strategies across Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas.

Dr. Karayalçın joined the Kurtsan family in 2015 and has served, in turn, as Strategic Planning Manager, Director of Strategic Planning and Business Development, Board Member and Vice Chair of the Board. He also worked as a Lecturer at Istanbul Kültür University between 2022 and 2024.

He has received international awards including the Red Dot Award and has spoken at the United Nations General Assembly. He supports national initiatives to advance gender equality.

Drawing on his background in operations, finance, research and development, quality and information technology, he aims to strengthen Kurtsan’s production and industrial processes, and has served as General Manager for Industrial Operations since October 2025.