Yağız Sözmen, CFA
Managing Partner
Yağız co-founded Core Finance in 2017 and has since led the firm’s international expansion and evolution into one of the region’s leading independent investment banks. Over the years, he has completed more than 25 M&A transactions with an aggregate transaction value exceeding $2 billion, advising across B2B SaaS, Fintech, Defense Tech, and Mobility. His leadership has been instrumental in shaping Core Finance’s reputation as a trusted cross-border advisor to global investors and founders alike.
Yağız has advised companies and investors including TeamSystem, TPG, PayTR, and Guggenheim Partners, and has overseen Core Ventures’ early-stage investments in frontier technology companies such as QuikNode, 8Sleep, Umbra Space, and others.
Prior to founding Core Finance, Yağız held several executive positions, including Partner at Farazad Investments where he led the M&A division and Venture Capital Investor at Smyrna Capital, a Washington D.C.–based VC fund managing over $500 million in assets. He began his career at BravoSolution, a leading IT consultancy and software company later acquired by Jaeger.
Yağız holds a BA in Economics from Tufts University, an MBA from the London Business School, and is a CFA® charterholder.