About Nil Kalagoglu
LinkedIn Profile
Full Biography
Formation
I was born in Istanbul in 1978 and grew up with the guiding theme of “infinite freedom within a certain discipline.” I was a child wired to discover everything on my own and not rely on anyone. I was always enthusiastic, curious, and eager about life. After finishing elementary school, I began playing volleyball – a family tradition – and thus started a journey that would last 11 years.
During my years at the German High School, I played with great dedication for Eczacıbaşı, Beşiktaş (BJK), and at the same time for the national teams. I completed my university education at Rice University in Houston, USA, on a volleyball scholarship.
Spending almost my entire volleyball career as a team captain, working with no fewer than 19 different coaches, and playing on many different teams and across various age groups endowed me – only later did I fully realize its value – with a wealth of skills, perspectives on life, and experiences.
Becoming – 1.0
Work life
After university, I worked in consulting – first in Houston, then in London. Following a year of education in France and Singapore, I earned my MBA from INSEAD. Nine years later, I returned to Turkey.
My professional career in Turkey began at Sabancı Holding, in the Strategy and Business Development Department. There, I learned how Turkish companies operate and are structured, and I built strong relationships – still ongoing today – with my team and many valuable colleagues and leaders across the holding. However, my energetic and freedom-loving spirit did not allow me to stay there for too long. Wanting to explore new fields, I moved to the Indian firm GMR to work on the Sabiha Gökçen Airport project. While working there, an extremely exciting and challenging opportunity presented itself, which led me to leave.
That opportunity was to manage the entire process – from pre-feasibility to commissioning – of a 900 MW natural gas combined-cycle power plant within Akenerji. The role also included managing the integration required by a new partnership with the Czech company CEZ. As project manager, I was responsible for every detail of the project for 5.5 years, working with immense enjoyment and fulfillment.
The relationships I built – with my project team (which included young talents, seasoned senior engineers, and subject-matter experts from different departments), with government institutions, and with consultants and contractors – provided me with a uniquely rich body of experience and knowledge. Upon completion of the project, I began looking for a role that would combine senior leadership with sales – an area I had not previously had the chance to experience. I found that intersection at Hilti.
At Hilti, for two years as an executive team member, I led the Strategic Sales team of 20 – 25 people and, in my second year, managed relationships with partner companies in Central Asia. During this period, I came to understand even more deeply that the key to success lies in uncovering people’s potential and placing the right person in the right seat.
For six months of those two years, we ran the company without a general manager. Through coaching and mentoring – without relying on positional authority, but purely on personal influence – I aimed to be a leader whom both my own team and other employees trusted, looked up to, and chose to follow. I identified and prepared the right people to become candidates for promotions within Hilti Turkey and globally.
Although the team I led achieved outstanding sales results, what I am truly most proud of when I look back on those two years is the dedication, trust, and affection I received from my team and from many Hilti employees, as well as the growth they achieved within the global Hilti Organization.
Coaching – take 1
At the end of those two years, having accomplished the turn-around challenge that I had been given, I took a break from corporate roles and embarked on a coaching journey – one that also allowed me to get to know myself better. I named this journey Exintus, meaning “from within.” I completed my certification as a Co-Active Coach in 2016 and started coaching both individuals from all ages, as well as professionals who constituted the middle management at a non-profit organization. It became evident to me quite quickly though, while I loved coaching, it was not providing me with the active participation in the business landscape, which I missed. Coaching alone was not enough. Hence, when sometime in 2018 I was offered a role to establish and lead the Turkish branch of a boutique expert services consulting company, I accepted that challenge.
Culmination
In my new role as country lead/director, I both had to do business development, and work in projects where we were engaged as consultants and damages experts in arbitrations. This work took all of my time until Covid-19 lock-downs. In 2021, I was both managing projects where my boss was the expert (he is a rather well-known damages expert) and serving as expert in my own case. Starting to serve as an expert was a milestone – a so-called turning point – for those who worked in the sector. I was told that it was a “highly prestigious” achievement to have (successfully) testified in front of an International Arbitration Tribunal, and I ought to be joyous. Here was the catch, though: I wasn’t. I had not enjoyed any part of the process. I felt like I was meeting “artificial” deadlines in matters that arose from “artificial” situations, spending most of time refuting and proving points in a rather “artificial” setting. (I will not go in further detail on this emphasis on “artificial” – happy to elaborate in person if anyone is interested!)
Disruption & 180°
By now, I had a whole toolbox of sharp coaching skills; and I knew how to coach myself to identify a resonant and joyous path for myself. I applied all of them. And at the end, not the why but the what (I decided to undertake) even surprised me: I had decided to learn data science in the US! On this journey, sometimes I felt disheartened and sometimes frightened. I was lucky because my boss supported me wholeheartedly. I started with small steps. I completed the NYU Tandon CS Certification program in 2022; I then reviewed my high school calculus and my MBA statistics and became convinced that I would do well in a business focused MSc. in Data Science program. I applied and was accepted by GSU’s Robinson College of Business, which I graduated from in December 2024.
Becoming – 2.0
Career
I am currently working full time in the same company at which I interned during my MSc. Unlike my earlier career, my current job leaves me with sufficient personal free time to engage in a multitude of activities. I volunteer (Fernbank Museum, Atlanta Zoo), do Judo, and box. I love reading, listening to music & audiobooks, and crochet.
Coaching – take 2
I volunteer because I feel compelled to share my good fortune in life with the rest of the society to create positive impact. Recently, I realized that I could maximize such impact by coaching again. Therefore, I am currently carving dedicated time out from my above activities for coaching.
A forward-looking statement…
This “Becoming 2.0” stage of my life has just started; and as I am the author of it, I have no doubt it will be full of surprises & excitement, challenges & victories, growth & transformation, laughter & tears, discovery & retrospectives, and of course, dogs & cats and music & books… Needless to say, I am already wondering about the 3.0…
Stay Smurfy,
Nil Kalagoglu
Exintus™ Coaching 