Funda Lena

Funda Lena completed her undergraduate and graduate education at Boğaziçi University Department of Economics, with two awards. During her graduate studies, she worked as a research assistant in the same department.

After working in the music industry for five years as a singer, songwriter, and producer, she graduated from Istanbul Bilgi University's Communication PhD program. During her doctoral studies, she focused on cultural economy and policy. Her book, "Diversity in Türkiye's Music Industry," was published in 2017. She taught various courses in the Arts and Cultural Management Department at Istanbul Bilgi University between 2015 and 2022. 

She founded KREKSA Culture and Arts Research in 2015, Lena & Mama Publishing in 2018, Kültür AĞI, a communication platform for artists and cultural professionals, in 2020, ARTENPRENEUR Entrepreneurship Training portal for Artists in 2022, and Sisters Music Chain, a solidarity, advocacy, education, and co-production platform for female musicians, in 2023. She conducts research projects with prominent public institutions, NGOs, and private institutions in the field of culture and arts. She is a member of the TOBB Türkiye Creative Industries Assembly and MSG Supervisory Board. She received the Lions Turkey Distinguished Woman Entrepreneur award in 2019 and the jury's special award at the Women-Friendly Brands Platform Awareness Awards in 2024. She was included in the Female Founders 100 list published by Fast Company Magazine in 2023, 2024, and 2025. She is among the 10 female entrepreneurs selected from Türkiye for the Entrepreneurial Female Leaders program organized by the Global EY (Ernst & Young) firm in 2024.