Leyla Alaton is currently a board member of Alarko Holding, one of Turkey’s largest conglomerates in construction, contracting, energy, tourism and food businesses. Among her past activities, she founded a public relations consultancy company Megatrend which gave consultancy to major multinationals like Aerospatiale, Alcatel and many more.

She has constantly been committed to fostering social entrepreneurship. Founding member of Kagider, the Turkish Association of Women entrepreneurs, and of Make a Wish - Turkey, she also used to play an active part in the Young Presidents Association. She is a popular speaker on women rights issues and on the role of women in modern Turkey.

Leyla Alaton actively supports contemporary art. She is a private collector as well as an advisory board member of Contemporary Art Istanbul, of Aksanat Akbank’s Art center and of Garajistanbul, a very popular contemporary visual arts venue.

Leyla is also Assistant to the Honorary Consul General of South Africa in Istanbul and holds a MA in Social Studies from New York University.