Hakan Ozsancak, MBA
Vice President of Communications and Marketing at Building Owners and Managers Association
Hakan oversees the media relations & communications at
American University, his alma mater. He works closely with the
university president Sylvia Matthews Burwell, deans of various
schools, and faculty members, to promote and enhance AU’s
brand in the U.S. and globally.
Previously, Hakan oversaw operations, finance and communications of the Washington Institute, providing support to the CEO and Founder Jim Moore.
Born in Istanbul, Turkey, he is the son of a diplomat and by the age of ten had lived in Switzerland, Egypt, Germany, and Turkey. He speaks five languages. Having served as Chief Operating Officer of a technology company and executive producer for a major media conglomerate, Hakan spent 17 years in the communications industry. He has led diverse teams of professionals in a series of news projects around the world and has received several awards for his work. One of his most compelling assignments was focusing on the Brazilian Amazon, looking at the ecological realities, compared to the economic challenges the country faced. Under his leadership, photographers for the news network received dozens of awards, from the WhiteHouse Photographers Association.
Hakan excels in strategic communications, business development, finance, and strategy. He received his bachelor’s degree in international relations from American University and his executive MBA from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. His studies at Georgetown took him to South Korea, Hong Kong, and Macau. During his time at WI, Hakan traveled alongside Jim Moore to such diverse countries as Japan, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and Qatar. Hakan is an avid sports fan, having helped create the sports program at the Washington Institute, covering such major events as the Olympics and the upcoming world cup in Qatar.
