Dr. Israfil was born in Warsaw, Poland in 1942 and grew up in Turkey. He studied mathematics at Columbia University, USA (1967). After graduation, he joined J.P. Morgan Bank as a research analyst and simultaneously pursued his higher education at Columbia in a Ph.D. program on the Economic History of Ottoman Empire (1968-1973, thesis not completed).   

In 1986 he was brought back to Turkey as an advisor to Prime Minister Turgut Özal and launched the privatization program. After leaving government service in 1992, he worked in various capacities in several positions for governments and international bodies in the USA, Europe and Turkey and founded the New York based consulting firm FIL Finance in 1996.

In 2001 he was awarded an honorary Doctorate from Batumi University, Georgia.

With his considerable experience in and knowledge of Turkish and world markets, Dr. Israfil is providing consultancy service to GSI Meridian clients as a Senior Counselor on all aspects of Banking, Capital & Money Markets, M&A, Privatization, and Project Structuring & Finance in the Infrastructure & Energy Sectors.

LANGUAGES: English, Turkish, Polish and a good knowledge of Russian