Birkan Atlamaz

Birkan Atlamaz didn't set out to become a cybersecurity guy. He started as a design engineer at BMC in 2008, moved through truck and pickup programs, and by the time R155/R156 became the industry's problem, he'd already been living inside vehicle architecture for over a decade.

He now runs two functions at Anadolu Isuzu, part of Anadolu Group: R&D Electrical-Electronic Systems Director, overseeing 90-plus engineers, and Head of Vehicle Cybersecurity. Both since 2023, same building.

His technical ground covers ISO/SAE 21434, TARA and CSMS work, EV architecture, CAN and Ethernet networks, AUTOSAR, V2X and C-ITS, plus IIoT for connected fleets. His path at Isuzu actually began in 2013 as Senior Engineer, climbing through Truck/Pickup Team Lead and Chief Engineer roles. Before that: five years at BMC, a short stint leading a project at Nesan, and a year at MEXT Consulting (2021–2022) working on EV, autonomous vehicle, and Mobility-as-a-Service localization tied to a World Economic Forum collaboration. Earlier still — a lieutenant's commission, 2006 to 2007.

He expects a PhD. By the end of 2026. The thesis which got confirmation, "Empathetic Leadership in Resource-Constrained Environments," came out of Universidad Azteca— mixed-methods research inside the automotive OEM sector, landing on an empathy-to-job-satisfaction correlation of r=0.62 and a performance mediation effect of β=0.38. It's open access on Zenodo, ORCID 0009-0007-6987-2770.

Nine utility model patents, all filed in 2016, cover battery safety, driver assistance, vehicle security, and remote systems. Behind that sit more than 36 certifications — cybersecurity, agile, lean, ITS, leadership. He's an ERA Subject Matter Expert (EX2019D356330) and contributes to the Autoware Foundation's Bus ODD work. He also sits on several boards and committees: OSD's ITS group, OTEP, ITS Türkiye, HTK, TTGV's #iklimlab, and advisory boards at Gaziantep University's Electrical-Electronics Engineering department and Avrasya Elektro Mobilite Derneği.