Almost three decades designing trust-based business collaboration as a discipline — from New York treasury to BIST 100 CEO coaching.
Ertuğrul Belen joined LAMpartner as the human counterpart to its operating engine. His
path reads as a continuous progression through one discipline — designing trust-based,
systematically structured business collaborations — applied across institutional finance,
category-creating training, technology entrepreneurship, and now partnership orchestration.
Across almost three decades inside this discipline, he has trained 100,000+ professionals
and entrepreneurs, coached leaders across BIST 100 institutions through his CEO
and Leader Networking Coaching Program, authored two bestsellers and co-authored the
Republic of Türkiye's official entrepreneurship handbook, and built and exited his own
technology ventures.
The GM Treasury foundation
Ertuğrul began his career at General Motors Corporate Treasury in New York
as a member of the liquidity team managing roughly $5 billion. He
learned, at the structural level, how global organizations move capital, allocate
counterparties, and price the relationships behind every flow. That early exposure to
high-stakes counterparty management became the substrate beneath everything he built
afterward.
Building Business Networking Akademi (2008–present)
Returning to Türkiye, Ertuğrul founded Business Networking Akademi with one thesis:
personal and institutional growth is best built through trust-based and systematically
designed business collaborations. The academy became the first in Türkiye
to deliver registered, structured Networking and LinkedIn-based Professional Personal
Brand training. He has since trained 100,000+ professionals, coached BIST 100 leaders
one-on-one, and designed BNA Speed Networking™ — proprietary
curated-introduction sessions used by corporations and chambers across Türkiye.
Author and category authority
Ertuğrul authored two bestsellers — Networking: Tanışma, Tanıştırma ve Tanınma
Sanatı and İş Dünyasında LinkedIn ile Networking — both written from
documented case work. He co-authored Girişimciliğin Altın Kuralları and the
KOSGEB Entrepreneurship Handbook for the Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Industry and
Technology. The body of work positioned him as the canonical reference for the discipline
in the Turkish business ecosystem.
Technology ventures and venture portfolio work
Beyond the academy, Ertuğrul built and exited his own technology businesses — including
a recognized "E-Commerce Company of the Year" — and has operated
alongside funds and venture portfolios as an advisor and partner. This dual exposure
as both founder and outside partner gave him direct understanding of how technology
companies grow, where they require structural support, and which relationships unlock
them.
Credentialing
Galatasaray Lisesi and University of Wisconsin alumnus. Erickson Coaching International —
Professional Coach and NLP Master certified. The corporate academy and partner programs
he has been part of earned Stevie Awards, Brandon Hall, and ATD recognition;
his leadership program collaborations include a Financial Times Top 100
"Executive Development Center" accredited initiative. Former member of the
Türkiye National Swimming Team and current Galatasaray Sports Club Divan Council member.
Why LAMpartner
The same trust-based, systematically structured collaboration methodology Ertuğrul has
taught at the CEO level for nearly two decades is the discipline LAMpartner uses to
convert founder-level relationships into investable projects. Where Ceyhun brings the
project orchestration engine, Ertuğrul brings the relationship engine: identifying
the right counterparties, designing the introduction, structuring the trust, and
maintaining the relationship after the deal closes. Together, they cover both sides
of the equation that every cross-border project requires.
