About

Can Koçak

I'm an incoming Ph.D. student in Management at UCLA Anderson, specializing in Decisions, Operations and Technology Management (DOTM) — working at the intersection of operations research, optimization, and data-driven decision making. I graduated from Koç University with a double major in Industrial Engineering and Computer Engineering (GPA 3.92/4), ranking second in my Industrial Engineering class, and bring industry experience in analytics and data science from Mastercard, Pegasus Airlines, Simon-Kucher, and Amazon.

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Can Koçak

01

Education

University of California, Los Angeles — Anderson School of Management

2026Present

Ph.D. in Management, Decisions, Operations and Technology Management

  • Research focus at the intersection of operations research, optimization, and data-driven decision making.

Koç University

20202026

B.S. in Industrial Engineering & Computer Engineering (Double Major)

  • Full scholarship · GPA: 3.92/4 · Ranked 2nd in the Industrial Engineering graduating class

University of Southern Denmark

Feb 2024Jun 2024

Erasmus Exchange Program

  • Odense, Denmark

Nanyang Technological University

Jun 2023Jul 2023

Summer Exchange Program

  • GPA: 5/5 · Singapore

02

Industry Experience

Associate Consultant Intern · Mastercard

Jun 2025Jul 2025
  • Applied data analysis and machine learning methods to model and predict customer attrition for a leading Turkish bank.

Data Analysis Specialist · Pegasus Airlines

Sep 2024May 2025
  • Conducted research on an overbooking project to gather information on how to build an effective no-show model.
  • Collaborated with the Data Science team on forecasting and modeling studies to support evidence-based decision making.

Associate Consultant Intern · Simon-Kucher

Mar 2024Aug 2024
  • Conducted research on global expansion strategies across the US, Mexico, and South Africa, covering over 1,000 products.
  • Assisted in developing data-driven insights to evaluate customer value perception and competitive positioning of brands.

Vendor Manager Intern · Amazon

Aug 2023Jan 2024
  • Analyzed sales data to identify growth opportunities like direct importing of well-known brands.
  • Conducted in-depth sales data analysis to inform deal strategy and generate analytical reports for decision-making.

03

Teaching

Founder and Lecturer · Kuchess Society

Founded the Koç University Chess Club and led the team for 5 years.

Teaching Assistant · Comp125 — Introduction to Python and Programming

Instructor: Beren Semiz.

Instructor · Baims Company

Designed and delivered a 10-hour course, Introduction to Python and Programming, and prepared and taught a 20-hour Calculus I course.

Private Tutor

Provided private tutoring to students preparing for the International Baccalaureate (IB) exams.

Mentor

Assisted freshman students with their coursework.

04

Awards & Honors

  • 3× Vehbi Koç Honor Award (SPA above 3.75), 3× Dean's Honor Roll
  • Koç University full-tuition undergraduate merit scholarship ($30k/yr) — ranked 982nd of 2.5M+ students, Turkey National University Entrance Exam
  • Government Top 100 Scholarship ($200/mo) — ranked 54th of 2.5M+ students, Turkey National University Entrance Exam
  • 3rd place of 100+ projects, TÜBİTAK High School Student Research Project Competition
  • 2019 U18 Turkish Chess Champion; honored National Chess Player
  • 200+ professional international chess tournaments, 40+ medals and cups; FIDE Standard ELO 2042 (top ~21,000 worldwide); experienced in blindfold chess

05

Skills

Programming Languages

PythonJavaCTypeScriptDartSchemeSQL

Frameworks

PandasNumPyMatplotlib

Software

AnacondaGitEclipseFlutterPower BI