Deniz Gungen

Deniz Gungen is a director in APCO Worldwide’s Istanbul office. He leads the pharmaceutical-sector team and provides strategic counsel on regulatory affairs, government relations and advocacy, issues management, market entry, and corporate communications to a variety of clients, among them entities representing energy, finance, insurance, information technologies, retail, paper and NGO interests. Mr. Gungen focuses primarily on orphan drugs and rare diseases in the pharmaceutical sector.

Mr. Gungen has a diverse background with experience in both the public and private sectors. Prior to joining APCO, he worked at the Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey (DEIK) as the strategy and business-development coordinator. In this position he assisted the Turkish private sector’s international-market expansion strategies and government relations, and navigated the complex network of laws in order to promote policy change in various sectors. Mr. Gungen formulated strategy and action plans for DEIK Business Counsels and coordinated, in cooperation with the Ministry of Economy, the establishment of new business counsels, such as Turkey’s first Energy and Logistics Business councils.

Mr. Gungen has also experience in the private sector working as a project manager in the U.S., where he managed multiple software and website localization projects for prominent software companies, including Computer Associates, Microsoft and Blackboard.

Mr. Gungen has taught classes on international trade, investment, industrialization and development at Boston University and Tufts University in the US and at Yeditepe University. He presents regularly at academic conferences on various topics pertaining to state-business relations and developmental aspects of international trade.

Mr. Gungen began his career in Denver, Col., working with an international-development NGO, where he supported international fundraising and marketing programs.

Mr. Gungen holds a PhD in political science from Boston University, an MA in global finance, trade and economic integration from the University of Denver and a BA in international relations from Bilkent University.