My name is Elsy Nergizyan, born on March 14, 1946, as a British Overseas Citizen. Later on I married a Turkish man thus I now own two citizenships: British and Turkish.

I am a mother of two: my daughter is General Manager of Air Astana Türkiye; my son was operating a restaurant in Istanbul but is now undertaking new ventures. My granddaughter who lives in Vienna, Austria, has studied mechanical engineering which in my opinion is not very suitable for females.

My professional career started after I graduated from the English High School for Girls in Istanbul, followed by a course of shorthand/typing (outdated terminology). The younger generation may not know what shorthand is.

My first job was with a renowned Turkish company, Burla Biraderler which represented many international brands including Kodak. That was also a great challenge for me as a young woman. However I had to resign when I married.

When my children started their university studies, I decided that I had to continue with my career. I contacted my friends in Burla Biraderler who were more than happy to offer me the position of Personal Assistant to the General Manager and owner of the company.

However, after a couple of years I realised that I should look forward to new opportunities. That led the way to Mohamed Hammam and the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs. Mohamed was the CEO of the leading airline catering company USAŞ which was privatised and sold to SAS Service Partner. For many years I was Mohamed’s PA, however as there is a beginning, there is always an end. The airline catering company was sold to another entrepreneur.

At this point Mohamed told me that he would like to stay in Istanbul and deal with other projects including the Chaîne. He asked me to share his new ventures with him. In 2006 he was promoted to be Bailli Délégué of Türkiye. As previously indicated there is always an end. He finally decided that it was time for him and his wife Maria to move back to their homeland.

Consequently, Yves Léon was promoted to Bailli Délégué in 2021. Thanks to Mohamed and Yves we now have our Chaîne offices very close to my home.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank both Mohamed and Yves for their continued support during the course of all these years.

Elsy Nergizyan
Office Administrator
Bailliage of Türkiye