Our Team

Banu Cetin Akca

Co-Founder

Banu is the mother of two sweet and cheeky boys, happily married to an awesome man she met in Dubai. 

She is mostly an introvert and an organization junkie, she loves bullet point lists and anything else that gives her the illusion that she’s getting her life in order. 

The order of her life has been a bit shaken when her little son regressed into mild autism. After closing herself temporarily for a while for some spiritual maintenance and purely focusing on kids, she has finally decided to open up a new chapter in her life; UrbanCircle. 

Prior to co-founding UrbanCircle, Banu has worked in strategy consultancy for 12 years . She holds an undergrad degree in Civil Engineering, an MS degree in Earthquake Engineering and an MBA Degree from London Business School.

Zeynep Guney

Co-Founder

Zeynep is a mom of 2 boys, an ex-banker and an expat wife.  

She is curious and passionate by nature, needs to go and check the latest on everything and her biggest joy is to share her discoveries with the people around her in a thrill. 

And after spending years as a working mom, knowing that uneasy feeling when you are sitting at an endless meeting, but your mind is at home with the kids, she knew exactly who she wanted to help and that is how she decided to co-found UrbanCircle.  

Before UrbanCircle, Zeynep was in Corporate and Investment Banking as a relationship banker for 12 years. She has a BA in International Relations and a MA in Political Economy from University of Essex.