Mehmet Celebi
Mehmet is the Founding Partner of Baykam-RBM. Engaged in entertainment and fashion in Turkey and the region, it has undertaken several high-profile projects in Turkey on a global scale. Baykam-RBM merged into Arti Bir Group in 2010.
Mehmet now serves as the Founding Parter of Arti Bir. Arti Bir is a group of companies engaged in construction, entertainment, manufacturing and finance. The Group’s construction projects are underway in Iraq, Kuwait and in discussions for several projects in the Middle East. The Group owns Turkey’s largest live entertainment company, and is engaged in the production and financing of domestic and Hollywood films in Turkey and the region.
Mehmet has co-founded several Turkish-American organizations, and served as president or held leadership positions with a few local and national Turkish American organizations.
During Mr. Celebi’s leadership positions, he has worked closely with many ethnic communities across the US including Greek, Armenian, Jewish and Arab groups to name a few. He continues to work on many projects that can build bridges with these communities.
Mehmet Celebi is also a founding member of the Interfaith and Global Peace Initiative, a U.S.-Jordanian initiative lead by religious, community, business, and media leaders; and a Fellow at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding. He has also served on the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations’ Task Force on “Strengthening America: The Civic and Political Integration of Muslim Americans”.
After moving to the US in 1988, he received a Bachelor's degree in International Relations and International Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
* Turkish American Cultural Alliance of Chicago (TACA), President, 2001-2005
* Assembly of Turkish-American Associations (ATAA), Midwest Vice-President, 2001-2005
* Turkish-American Doctors’ Association of Midwest (TADAM), Co-Founder/Member of Advisory Board, 2003-2005
* Association of Turkish-American Scientists Engineers and Architencts-Midwest (ATASEA), Co-Founder/Member of Board, 2003-2005
* National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA), Member of Board, 2004-2005
* The Dean’s International Council-the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago, Member of the Board, 2008-Present
* Institute for Social Policy & Understanding (ISPU), Fellow, 2010-Present
* The Buck Institute for Research on Aging, Member, the Buck Advisory Council, Recently Joined (Feb 2011)
* Hillary Clinton for President Campaign-2008 Presidential Elections, Clinton Delegate/Co-Chair of Regional Finance Committee, 2006-2008
* European Journalists’ Association “Lifetime Achievement” Award-Ankara 2009
Mehmet was born in Syria to a Turkish mother and a Syrian father of Turkish origin, and has lived in both countries in the early part of his childhood. Mehmet moved to the US in 1988. He is married with 3 sons (9, 6, and newborn - March 2011).
