Sami CEBI began his career as a government official in a structured, static environment. When he transitioned to the dynamic and constantly evolving technology landscape in the private sector, he found himself in challenging terrain. However, as someone who thrives on challenges, he quickly gained a foothold. Today, he is one of the youngest C-level executives in Türkiye. As General Manager, he is steering SICPA Türkiye Ürün Güvenliği San. Ve Tic. A.Ş. on an upward growth trajectory.
Sami took the helm of the company when it was experiencing challenges. Through his vision and innovative strategies, he repositioned it around in a short time. His success can be attributed to his dedication. He is like a wolf willing to lead the herd. Once Sami sets his sights on an objective, he pursues it persistently until it is achieved.
Transitioning to Technology Space from Government
Sami served in government before transitioning to the technology industry. He recalls his time as a government official as “static.” That is a stark contrast to the rapidly evolving culture of the technology industry. “It is like being on the other side of the edge,” Sami points out.
In the technology industry, he found the work to be “extremely dynamic” and evolving each and every day. This is something he liked — and continues to like — about it. According to him, every day brings new opportunities to learn, update his knowledge, and adjust his perspectives. “That is why I love to be in the field of technology and innovation,” Sami says.
A Recap of Professional Journey
Sami holds a Master’s degree in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from Sabancı University. After earning his master’s degree, he began working as an advisor on foreign affairs at a municipality. He later moved to the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, where he continued to focus on foreign affairs.
Eventually, Sami decided to quit working for the government and moved to the private sector. He was offered the opportunity to serve as Country Manager at InfoSec Global, which develops solutions, particularly algorithms, to defend against quantum computing threats. After serving here for a short period of time, Sami moved on to one of the largest conglomerates in Türkiye, where he was responsible for four major energy projects. However, due to certain challenges, those projects did not progress as planned, according to Sami.
Before joining SICPA Türkiye, Sami held the position of Corporate Affairs Manager at Erciyes Anadolu Holding.
Turning Around SICPA Türkiye
SICPA Türkiye, operating in the country since 2007, is a provider of high-tech solutions of sovereignty platforms, for product tracking and tracing systems, protecting government revenue and public policies against the shadow economy. Sami was drawn to the company because it was a rapidly evolving field that requires constant improvement and demands continuous learning. So, it was something new and dynamic to him, though leading it was not easy. “That is what pulled me into SICPA Türkiye,” Sami says. “And I’m really happy to be proven right.”
When he arrived at the company in March 2022, he found that a lot of challenges he was willing to address, notably in terms of resource management.
“All the issues that occurred after my time were even a result of the unfortunate events in this company,” Sami says. But backed by the confidence and consistent support of the SICPA Group President and CEO, Sami’s innovative leadership and penchant for solving problems have led to things getting better at SICPA Türkiye.
Sami points out that since then, for example, in revenue, they have increased their annual revenue by more than 200%. And the number of their employees has increased as well. “Our family has expanded,” Sami says. “I hope it keeps expanding in the coming months.”
“So, there is growth not just in the number of projects, but dramatic growth in each and every project,” he adds.
A Young Leader Dealing with Challenges
Sami is younger than most of the leaders in C-level positions. “I have been working in positions where I am relatively young, far younger than the expected candidates or my peers,” he points out. And this has often posed a challenge. He does not want to call it jealousy of his peers or colleagues and subordinates, but as it is a competitive corporate world, he had to face some challenging times because of being a very young leader, especially at the beginning of his career.
Also, at the beginning, he was mostly thinking about himself and not much about the people around him. He soon realized that it was not the right thing to do. “Also, because of that, I may be seen as someone posing a threat to someone else,” he points out. So, he began to focus on success for all, not just his own. “When I do that, no one is able to stand in my way,” Sami says. “That is the lesson I have learned so far.” He stresses “so far,” because he believes that he may learn other lessons in the next years of his career and his life.
“I have a dream …” – Martin Luther King Jr.
Success In Terms of Business
In the initial phase of his career, Sami’s definition of success revolved around himself. “Like I mentioned earlier, it was all about myself,” he says. He thought about what he needed to do to be successful, and how he could do it the best. But as time passed, and he grew in his career, he realized that success is not just about himself. “It is all about the organization that I am leading,” he says.
“Everybody’s success is a building block,” he adds. “And each and every one’s success, each and every one’s contribution is a building block. And that becomes a big building of success for me, as well.”
Today, Sami feels it is a success business-wise if he can fulfill the needs of the customer, which is mostly the government in their case, fully and in a timely manner. According to him, his perspective on success has changed over the years. And, as he is still young, he believes that it will continue to change.
Responsibilities of a General Manager
Sami has divided his responsibilities into two parts: routine and future-oriented. His routine responsibilities include providing leadership to the team in projects and offering guidance to ensure smooth workflow. Since they provide services to the government, Sami also handles urgent issues that may arise.
The other half of his responsibilities focuses on new projects. This requires taking strategic decisions and meeting with people. In addition to that, he conducts research and collects information. And Sami keeps the headquarters in Lausanne informed about what they are doing in Türkiye, and ensures that they are aligned with the company’s objectives.
Along with these two parts of his responsibilities, his efforts are also on enhancing their business in Türkiye.
And Sami is not a leader whose focus is only on managing the cash flow, projects, and timelines. He also manages the expectations, motivation, and feelings of all the people involved in the organization. He believes that he is doing this well, and for him, this is his greatest achievement.
“My biggest achievement is managing the expectations, plus motivation, plus feelings of the people reporting to me,” Sami says. “I think I was successful in this regard, and I am still successful. And this is quite a significant achievement for me.”
Sami handles multiple responsibilities. So, how does he maintain a balance between his personal and professional life? In my leisure time, I take pleasure in driving my collection of classic cars with my daughter and playing the Ney, a traditional reed flute known for its spiritual and meditative sound. He believes that he can maintain a work-life balance, but those around him do not share that belief. “I am trying to create as much time for myself and for my daughter,” Sami points out. But I believe my assessment will not be objective.”
He is probably focusing less on his personal life, but he has no regrets about it. “I am happy with it because I am doing what I need to do, and I am doing what I am happy to do,” he says. However, he points out that it does not mean he is working all day and night.
“Sometimes I work late nights outside of the office, but I need to feed not only my body, but also my soul,” Sami says. “So, I’m trying to create time and space to feed my soul as well.”
The Motivating Factors
As General Manager, Sami encourages his team to give their best and give the best service. According to him, he does not tell them to be most efficient or make SICPA a money-making business.
“Sometimes it may take more time or more effort than normal, but we still need to be the best,” he says. And we have to believe that we are the best.” He also adds that the hardest thing in the world is to keep oneself in the highest position.
“So, what we do here in Türkiye is that we believe we are doing it almost as well as possible, and we need to keep it,” Sami says.
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication” – Leonardo da Vinci
Brief Introduction to SICPA
SICPA, headquartered in Switzerland, will be celebrating 100 years of its existence in 2027. It is best known for safeguarding the majority of the world’s banknotes. With operations across five continents, its platform today delivers sovereignty solutions primarily in revenue mobilization, identity verification, healthcare security, and brand protection. The company’s combination of materials, detection technologies, and printing process expertise provides integrated, reliable, and secure solutions to its customers.
According to Sami, they are the leading and largest company in the world when it comes to aforementioned services. He specifically highlights that SICPA is investing an incredible budget in research and development, as the company is fighting against all forms of illicit trade, contraband, diversion, counterfeiting which require to always stay ahead of fraudsters and copycats- He also says that SICPA is about continuous improvement and operational excellence. “In every possible way, we need to enhance and improve our solutions,” he adds.
The Role of Innovation
Sami points out that SICPA is fighting against tax evasion methods, for example, contraband. All these are the things the government is fighting against in terms of illegal activities, most of it related to the financial and tax collection sides. There are ill-intentioned groups of people, Sami says, who are always trying to find a gap or a vulnerability in the system to exploit and to make illicit money. So SICPA also needs to work and continue to enhance, update, and upgrade what they are offering. Sami underscores that this can only come with innovation and solid partnerships with governments.
“If we innovate, then only we can fight against these ill-intentioned groups of people to optimize governance and administration for the people” he adds.
Plans for the Future
Sami has ambitious plans for the future. He wants to maximize value in Türkiye, already done with increased workforce by also ensuring that SICPA’s technology is produced locally in Türkiye more. “I believe I am very close to achieving this goal,” he says.
Under Sami’s leadership, SICPA Türkiye’s team is set to soon establish a local production unit, which will enable the manufacturing of the technology in Türkiye. For Sami, this is both his personal and professional aim at the moment. And he finds the overlapping of the goals exciting.
As a leader, Sami wants to see investments in Türkiye. According to him, he hopes to leave a positive legacy both in terms of business as well as his country.
Message to Aspiring Leaders
“Do what you can do and do the best you can do, and the rest will come along” is Sami’s message to aspiring leaders.
“Yesterday is gone, my dear. We must say something new today.” – Rumi
