About Us

FMC Group is a German-owned company that has been supporting clients in foreign markets for over 25 years.

Our Story

The name FMC Group was derived from “Foreign Market Consulting”, the name of the boutique consulting firm, Peter J. Heidinger and Yeşim F. Tektaşlı founded in 1999 in Istanbul, Türkiye.

Our journey began as Market Entry Experts for Türkiye, we quickly established our reputation by combining German accuracy with local flexibility. This unique approach resonated with clients seeking reliable navigation through the complexities of foreign market expansion.

In 2010, we hired the first employee on behalf of a client – a service we called “Employee Leasing”. The service is also known as Employer of Record. Over the years, we have gradually added additional regions. Currently, we offer Employee Leasing in over 50 countries.

Besides Employee Leasing, our Market Entry Services have been expanded to other countries as well, and more countries will follow.

While our geographic reach and service portfolio have expanded significantly since 1999, our fundamental approach remains unchanged.

Our Vision

Our vision is to be the leading premium partner for employee leasing and market entry in target markets, enabling our clients to operate internationally with the same confidence they have at home.

Our Mission

Our mission at FMC Group is to empower our clients to succeed in markets abroad by providing tailored services that help them understand, operate, and grow their business in international markets.

Our Core Services

We deliver value through two key service pillars:

Global Workforce Solutions: As an Employee Leasing provider (Employer of Record/EOR), we enable clients to hire and manage employees in 50+ countries – without the need to set up legal entities. We handle all administrative, legal, and compliance aspects, while clients retain full operational control of their teams.
Market Entry & Development: We support international expansion in selected markets through targeted market research, strategic partner identification, and customised market visits. Our goal is to turn market potential into tangible business success. For Türkiye, we support clients as a one-stop shop, offering a range of additional services, including company formation, accounting management, payment services, financial reporting, lead generation, import and distribution, and management consulting.

Our Approach

We distinguish ourselves through:

Tailored Consulting
Each client receives customised support based on their unique needs, industry landscape, and target markets.
Premium Experience for Clients and Leased Employees
We deliver concierge-level attention and support across every stage of our engagements.
Practical Expertise
Our recommendations are grounded in decades of hands-on experience establishing and growing businesses in diverse international markets.
Long-Term Mindset
We measure success by the sustainable growth of our clients and are committed to being long-term partners in their international journey.
Lean Processes & Competitive Pricing
Our streamlined operations allow us to offer high-quality services at competitive rates.

Our Management Team

Our management team brings together decades of international business expertise with a deep understanding of diverse markets. With backgrounds spanning multiple industries and regions, these professionals guide FMC Group’s mission to empower businesses in their global expansion journeys.

Peter J. Heidinger, Chairman

Peter is Chairman and founder of FMC Group.

Peter has 25+ years of experience in emerging markets. He relocated in 1994 to Istanbul to build a subsidiary of MAN Group in Turkey from scratch, which he led as managing director. Together with Yeşim F. Tektaşlı, Peter founded “Foreign Market Consulting,” the roots of FMC Group, 1999 in Istanbul. Since then, Peter’s mission is to support international companies in markets abroad.

Since founding FMC Group, Peter has supported hundreds of international companies with their business in Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates.

Peter is a German national and obtained his Dipl.-Ing. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Technical University Munich, Germany.

Stephan Dorn, Managing Partner

Stephan is the Managing Partner of FMC Group.

Before joining FMC Group, Stephan worked more than 8 years for Accenture’s management consulting practice. His main projects were in the manufacturing and automotive industry, where he focused on transformation and digitalization programs. Stephan has a strong knowledge when it comes to „remote resources“. In many projects, he was involved in the definition and implementation of nearshore resources, offshore delivery teams or the set-up of shared service centers.

He started his career in the semiconductor industry, where he worked as project manager in Asia and as key account manager for governmental clients.

Stephan holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of St. Gallen and a Diploma (Dipl.-Ing.) in Automation Technology from the University of Stuttgart.

Yeşim F. Tektaşlı, Partner

Yeşim is partner of FMC Group and is responsible for financial services development, companies’ setup and controlling.

Prior to forming FMC Group in 1999, Yeşim worked as an IT Coach in Munich and Nuremberg, in the Sales Department for Siemens Energieübertragung und –verteilung (Nuremberg, Germany) and came to Turkey as Commercial Project Manager for MAN EnerjiSistemleri Ltd., (Istanbul, Turkey). She specializes in operational and financial business for Turkish foreign trade and foreign capital companies.

Yeşim graduated from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (Germany) with a B.Sc. degree in Mathematics and Economics, with additional lessons in Psychology and Pedagogy. Her thesis, entitled “Turkey’s way to a free market economy” studied the changing face of Turkish business and economics. During her studies, she was a Board Member for the European Association of Turkish Academics.

Hans Sondermann, Partner

Hans is responsible for strategic growth consultancy services.

Before joining FMC Group Hans was Managing Director of the two global industrial players SEW-Eurodrive GmbH & Co. KG (1987 – 2014) and Rittal GmbH & Co. KG (2014 – 2019).

In both companies, he was responsible for global sales & marketing as well as service and logistics. He could achieve there impressive and profitable growth by expanding the global footprint and establishing new subsidiaries. Hans had a revenue responsibility of 2.7 billion € in SEW-Eurodrive and 2.3 billion € in Rittal.

Additionally, he joined in 2009 the advisory board of the German company Turck Holding GmbH, a global player in industry-specific automation solutions. Since 2014 he has been taking the chair of this advisory board.

Hans completed his studies in Industrial Engineering at the University of Karlsruhe in 1987.

Berna Gürleyen, Head of Competence Center

Berna is the Head of Competence Center – Research Services.

She joined FMC Group more than 14 years ago and supported various international companies for their market research, partner search, lead generation, opportunity screening, and market visit projects. She has been managing the market research department and international projects since 2011.

Before joining FMC Group, Berna started her career as Key Account Manager at Beiersdorf – tesa Turkey. After that, she fulfilled different business development and market research positions in the USA, the UK, and Turkey.

Berna studied Global Business and Management at the University of California Santa Barbara, USA, and holds an M.Sc. & B.SC. in Chemical Engineering from Istanbul Technical University. She is fluent in English and Turkish.

Hande Bilgin, Head of Financial Services

Hande is the head of financial services for FMC Group in Turkey.

She joined FMC Group in 2010 and is responsible for the financial management, controlling, and reporting of foreign capital companies in Turkey. She has 25 years of experience in finance.

Before joining FMC Group, Hande started her career at the Controlling Department of Mercedes Benz Türk AŞ – in Turkey. After that, she was for several years Finance and Administration Director at LSG Sky Chefs Sancak Catering, Joint Venture of Lufthansa Service Europa/Afrika GmbH, Neu-Isenburg/Germany.

Hande studied in Germany Business Administration with a focus on business informatics/Controlling at the University in Wiesbaden. She speaks German, English, and Turkish fluently.

Aslan Akgüç, Head of Business Partnerships

Aslan is the head of business partnerships.

He joined FMC Group in 2004 and has since then carried out numerous projects for our international clients, especially in the areas of partner search, market visits, employee surveys, customer satisfaction, location searches, and supplier searches.

Before joining FMC Group, Aslan started his career in Germany, working as a project coordinator for the Technical University of Berlin, for a market research company, and in the field of psychiatry.

Aslan holds an Electrical Engineering degree from the Technical University of Berlin, Germany. Turkish & Aramaic are his mother tongue, he is advanced in German.

Özlem Çanakçı, Head of Employee Leasing and Supply Chain

Ozlem is the head of Employee Leasing and Supply Chain.

She joined FMC Group more than 5 years ago and has more than 25 years of logistics & foreign trade experience in different sectors.

Before joining FMC Group, Ozlem was Import Manager at Tarman Group (Electrical Home Appliances sector) and managed all purchasings and logistics from the Far East. Before Ozlem was Logistics & Key Account Specialist at Ulustrans Int’l Forwarding Company and Logistics Supervisor at Hyundai Car Production Factory, managing warehouse and logistics of more than 10.000 vehicles/month.

Ozlem holds a BSc in Business Administration from the Anatolian University in Eskisehir after attending Ankara University. She speaks English fluently.

Emrah Ülkü, Project Manager Recruitment

Emrah is the Project Manager responsible for the recruitment projects in Turkey.

He joined FMC Group in 2011 as a consultant to carry out market research projects. Since 2017, he has been leading recruitment projects for our international clients from various industries and continues to support market research projects.

Before joining FMC Group, Emrah worked as an Economist at the Industrial Development Bank of Turkey (TSKB) between 2004 and 2008, where he participated in corporate lending and corporate finance projects and carried out various market analyses. Between 2008 and 2011, he worked at the Investment Support and Promotion Agency of Turkey (ISPAT) as a Research Analyst.

Emrah holds a BA degree in Economics from Koc University, Turkey. He is fluent in Turkish & English, and upper-intermediate in German.

Imen Hamdi, Senior Consultant North Africa

Imen is the Senior Consultant based in Tunisia.

She joined FMC Group 4 years ago. She has been managing market research, partner search and market visit projects. She is also in charge of recruitment and employee leasing projects in the region.

Before joining FMC Group, Imen worked in different multinational companies in Tunisia including Valeo – a French automotive supplier with more than 1500 local employees and Honeywell, the American multi-industry group, where she participated in the implementation of HR Processes and Procedures as well as in projects in the North African region.

Imen holds a master’s degree in Social and Labour Psychology. She studied in Tunisia as well as in France. She speaks English, French and Arabic fluently.