Hamdi Ulukaya Quotes
About Author
Hamdi Ulukaya (born 26 October 1972) is a Turkish billionaire businessman, activist and philanthropist of Kurdish ethnicity based in the United States. He is the founder, owner, chairman, and chief executive officer of the strained yogurt brand Chobani. According to Forbes, his net worth as of October 2022 is US$2.1 billion.
Ulukaya, a Kurd, has stated his strong commitment to Kurdish rights, citing this as a reason for leaving Turkey due to the Turkish state's oppression of its Kurdish minority. He started a modest feta cheese factory in 2002 on his father's advice. His major success came when he purchased a large, defunct yogurt factory in upstate New York in 2005, located in a region with a history in the dairy and cheese industry since the mid-nineteenth century. Chobani achieved over $1 billion in annual sales in less than five years after its launch, becoming a leading yogurt brand in the U.S. by 2011. Ulukaya was named the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur Of The Year in 2013, and Inc. magazine named him as "one of the most important entrepreneurs of the past decade" in 2019. In July 2022, UN Secretary General António Guterres appointed him as an additional advocate for the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.
Ulukaya, a Kurd, has stated his strong commitment to Kurdish rights, citing this as a reason for leaving Turkey due to the Turkish state's oppression of its Kurdish minority. He started a modest feta cheese factory in 2002 on his father's advice. His major success came when he purchased a large, defunct yogurt factory in upstate New York in 2005, located in a region with a history in the dairy and cheese industry since the mid-nineteenth century. Chobani achieved over $1 billion in annual sales in less than five years after its launch, becoming a leading yogurt brand in the U.S. by 2011. Ulukaya was named the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur Of The Year in 2013, and Inc. magazine named him as "one of the most important entrepreneurs of the past decade" in 2019. In July 2022, UN Secretary General António Guterres appointed him as an additional advocate for the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.