Tugrul Guner

“Ambitious technologist, dreaming of driving humanity towards groundbreaking advancements and its next technological leap”

Program: MBA

Hometown: Izmir, Turkey

Fun Fact About Yourself: I truly believed I could make galactic travel possible by solving fundamental physics challenges and using those breakthroughs to create enabling technologies just by myself until my mid 20s.

Undergraduate School and Major:

– Bilkent University – Physics, BSc
– Izmir Institute of Technology – Physics, MSc
– Izmir Institute of Technology – Materials Science and Engineer, PhD

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: 

I am currently employed at Arteria AI as a Senior Machine Learning Operations (MLOps) Engineer. While I don’t have a definitive plan yet, I am exploring opportunities in tech lead and managerial roles, alongside my strong desire to eventually start my own business.

What were some of the key motivating factors behind pursing your MBA, and why did this seem like the right time for you?

As an ambitious technologist and natural entrepreneur, I’ve always been passionate about both technology and business. My career has been deeply rooted in technical roles, but I have consistently nurtured a strong interest in business areas such as strategy, leadership, finance, and entrepreneurship. Recently, I realized that while my technical expertise and experience in developing products for startups have been invaluable, I need to deepen my understanding of business principles.

Managing teams and leading technical projects have highlighted the critical need to integrate effective business strategies with technical proficiency. Pursuing an MBA now presents the ideal opportunity to merge my technical background with advanced business knowledge, enabling me to either start and lead companies or excel as a leader and manager within existing organizations, thereby maximizing the impact of my unique skill set.

When you think of your school, what is the first word that comes to mind and why?

(Considering my BSc) Independence. I was completely on my own, and every choice I made about my life was entirely in my hands. I had the freedom to pursue any passion, chase any dream, and imagine the wildest possibilities—then go after them. It was a time of truly feeling alive, experiencing both the excitement and the good or bad consequences of my decisions.

What are one or two key aspects of this MBA program that stood out among the others, and why were they so important to you?

Flexibility and the teaching style. With my varied responsibilities and often hectic schedule, flexibility is crucial so that learning remains something I want to engage in, rather than something I feel forced to do. The teaching approach at Quantic also stood out to me—the use of stories and interactive question/answer techniques allows me to immerse myself in real-world scenarios, making the concepts easier to grasp as I learn by virtually facing and solving those challenges.

What course were you/are you most interested in taking coming into the program and why?

It’s tough to choose just one course because I was genuinely excited about several—entrepreneurship, economics, strategy, leadership, and finance. Entrepreneurship resonates with my ambition and drive, while economics helps me grasp market dynamics to make quicker, more informed decisions. Strategy allows me to envision a company’s future and tackle challenges creatively using data-driven decisions for growth. Leadership is about learning how to effectively manage teams with passion and the right perspective, and finance equips me with the knowledge of valuation, capital structure, and budgeting, all critical for making sound financial decisions for a company.

What club, activity, or experience at the school have you most
enjoyed so far, and why?

(Considering my BSc) There were two experiences I enjoyed the most:

1) Visiting the library and diving into advanced theoretical physics books, even though fully understanding them was out of reach. I loved the process—it sparked my imagination and made me dream of one day uncovering answers to the most challenging fundamental questions.

2) Going to the cinema alone, where I could fully immerse myself in the stories, reflect on their impact on me and the world, and explore the emotions and possibilities of an alternate reality that felt just out of reach.

What do you consider the biggest accomplishment in your career so far?

My career path has been quite diverse, starting in academia with many publications in international scientific journals, then transitioning to engineering (in AI), a field I pursued out of personal interest and self-study. I’ve also made a few attempts to start my own business, though they didn’t succeed. What I’m most proud of is not a specific achievement like my publications or my education, but rather my ability to adapt quickly and effectively to any environment or direction I choose. My greatest accomplishment is my resilience and dedication to pursuing and achieving my goals, no matter where I am or what challenges I face.

What is one thing you have recently read, watched, or listened to that you would highly recommend to other prospective MBAs? Why?

I highly recommend The Lean Startup by Eric Ries, especially for those interested in entrepreneurship. The book provides insightful guidance on how startups can strategically build products by emphasizing agility and using customer feedback to optimize market-product fit. It covers essential topics like asking the right questions, effectively leveraging user feedback, and designing experiments to gather meaningful data that can inform better decisions. It also teaches how to use this data to know when to pivot. Grounded in Toyota’s lean manufacturing principles, the lean methodology offers a practical framework for efficiently running a startup and making smart, data-driven choices.

What are two things you have learned at your school that have
surprised you so far – one academic and one non-academic?

On a non-academic note, I was surprised to learn that there isn’t a single “right” way to learn effectively. I used to believe that thoroughly understanding the theory first was the obvious approach. However, with experience, I realized I learn more efficiently by blending theory with practice—and sometimes, I learn best by diving in and doing the task itself.

On the academic side, I discovered the power of perseverance while working with my MSc professor on a challenging project. We were comparing our theoretical results with new experimental data, and at one point, I was ready to give up, convinced it wouldn’t work. But my professor pushed forward and eventually found a solution that aligned with the experimental outcomes. This experience taught me that persistence can be incredibly rewarding, but it’s also important to distinguish perseverance from stubbornness. Perseverance is valuable when you have confidence in your idea, but stubbornness can waste time if you’re holding onto something that’s unlikely to succeed—a distinction that requires both experience and strong analytical skills.

What advice would you give to help prospective MBA gain admission into the MBA program?

I recommend approaching an MBA as a valuable opportunity to gain deep knowledge in business, finance, entrepreneurship, strategy, leadership, and more. While the degree can certainly open doors, it should be viewed as a secondary benefit rather than the main goal. The most important factor is having a genuine passion for learning. If you’re excited about exploring these subjects through real-world scenarios and storytelling, you’ll find the Quantic MBA program to be highly rewarding. My advice is to remain enthusiastic, take advantage of any courses instantly available, and carefully evaluate your reasons for pursuing the program. If, after thorough consideration, you feel positive about it, then go ahead and pursue it.