Utku Oztaskin
About

Trained as an architect. Built a career delivering the projects architects dream about.

Utku Oztaskin

I direct hospitality and luxury residential development for sovereign-backed and privately held groups — the person accountable for an asset from feasibility/positioning through design direction, procurement strategy and CAPEX delivery.

Based between Riyadh and Istanbul, I currently lead the hospitality portfolio for a 100% PIF-owned masterplan, and have previously led developments for Qiddiya, DAMAC Properties and ASTAS Real Estate — including Türkiye's first Mandarin Oriental resort and its ultra-luxury urban hotel in Istanbul.

My background is in architecture — a Bachelor of Architecture from Mimar Sinan University, Istanbul — which shapes how I sit across the table from designers, operators and investors at once. I hold an e-MBA from SMC University, Vevey, and have completed executive programs at Oxford Saïd, MIT and Cornell in real estate investment, hotel asset management and urban strategy.

A Turkish citizen, I'm based in Saudi Arabia as a KSA Premium Residency holder.

Career register

Twenty years, six countries

2022 — present
Hospitality Development Director
ARDARA · Saudi Arabia
In charge of the entire hospitality portfolio (16 assets, 2,700+ keys) of a 100% PIF-owned masterplan — positioning and branding strategy, operator engagement, selection and HMA finalization. Development lead of the first mixed-use cluster: 210,000 sqm BUA with a luxury hotel, a holistic wellness-focused hotel, luxury branded villas and apartments, non-branded residences and a retail strip. Owns feasibility, financial model and investment strategy; design, procurement and delivery strategy; and departmental CAPEX.
2019 — 2022
Development Director
Qiddiya Investment Company · Saudi Arabia
Development lead for three resort core portfolio hotels within KSA's entertainment-driven giga-project. Delivered strategy, product definition, supportable investment and return-related decisions; development briefs and business plans; benchmarking; hotel quantum and CAPEX structuring. Led the international design competitions for waterpark assets.
2018 — 2019
Vice President, Projects
DAMAC Properties · UAE / Oman
Led one of the largest master development schemes in the GCC, reporting to the SVP and chairman: the Mina Al Sultan Qaboos Waterfront Development, a $2 billion conversion of an existing port into a mixed-use waterfront destination. Directed master planning, concept design development, infrastructure enabling works, procurement strategy, tender packaging and contract, scope, quality and risk management of contracted packages.
2014 — 2018
Projects' Director
ASTAS Real Estate and Development Holding · Türkiye
Owner-side executive reporting directly to the chairman. Integrated Owner-side development lead for the 133-key ultra-luxury urban hotel, Mandarin Oriental Istanbul, and led feasibility, technical and design management across three urban regeneration projects totaling 600,000 sqm in central Istanbul.
2012 — 2014
Project Director, Mandarin Oriental Bodrum
ASTAS Real Estate and Development Holding · Türkiye
Integrated development management for Türkiye's and the Mediterranean region's first Mandarin Oriental branded resort — a 109-key hotel with 98 villas and 116 luxury residences across a 60-hectare masterplan. Integrated Owner-side development over feasibility, CAPEX, design and delivery management, operator interface and handover to operations.
2011 — 2012
Projects' Director
Ilbak Holding · Istanbul, Türkiye
Direct report to the CEO, overseeing the Ramada Plaza Gunesli hotel (322 keys) and the Newada Residential Towers, a Class-A residential twin-tower project (280 units). Owned project realization strategy, master schedule and cash flow; design direction; and relationships with international funds, developers and lenders, including IRR/NPV sanity checks.
2008 — 2011
Business Development Director, Istanbul · Country Manager, Kazakhstan
IDA Group
Project valuation and financial modelling for the group's real estate projects, feasibility and land-acquisition sensitivity checks, and EMEA–GCC business development. Led Ritz-Carlton Almaty (delivered as JW Marriott Almaty), Marriott Renaissance Atyrau, Marriott Executive Apartments Atyrau, Holiday Inn Almaty, the JTI regional headquarters and the Haileybury British School.
2007 — 2008
Managing Director
Base MK LLP · Almaty, Kazakhstan
Led the in-house development team of a private-equity real estate company pursuing a London AIM listing. Built a seven-project, $3.2 billion portfolio spanning A-class office, hotel, retail, high-end and economy residential for the Assaubayev family office — reporting to the CEO on projections, budgeting, valuation and due diligence.
2005 — 2007
Country Operations Manager · Project Manager
Bureau Veritas International · Kazakhstan
Oversaw project management operations for a 2,000,000 sqm development portfolio (over $2 billion in construction budget) across three key accounts, including the Atyrau Marriott Renaissance Hotel project, reporting to the country CEO.
2000 — 2005
Early career
Soyak International Construction and Investment · Moscow
International contracting, Russian Federation.
Education & executive programmes

Grounded in architecture, sharpened in real estate finance