Ömer Özbay was born 1952 in Ankara. He studied sociology at the Middle East Technical University (METU). Özbay has worked for various companies in the banking, finance and stock exchange industry and is considered a proven expert. From 2003-2011, he worked as a consultant to the Board of Directors of the Istanbul Stock Exchange (İMKB) and, until recently, was active in the consultative capacity of the Prime Minister. Most recently Özbay was appointed CEO of an energy company.