Arda Yakıcı is an accomplished commercial and financial specialist with over 25 years of experience in the upstream oil and gas (E&P) industry, having worked in diverse locations such as Aberdeen, London, Turkey, Iraq, and other countries in the Middle East and Africa.

Before co-founding Altura Energy, Arda held executive and senior managerial roles at companies including Nexus Energy Resources, Taq Taq Operating Company (a Sinopec and Genel Energy JV), Deloitte, and PwC in the UK. His expertise spans auditing, advisory services, and commercial and financial management within the oil and gas sector.

During his career, Arda managed hydrocarbon production and sales, peaking at 150,000 barrels of oil per day and $3 billion annually. His extensive experience includes negotiating with Ministries of Petroleum worldwide, managing joint ventures, leading mergers and acquisitions, conducting petroleum economics and PSC analysis, and executing petroleum accounts audits. He is also proficient in project financing, EPC contract tendering, and supply chain management, making him instrumental in executing complex oil development projects.

Arda holds an MSc in Financial Management from Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen and is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA).