Marketing graduate lands "plumb" job

Marketing graduate Ece Akinci was recruited by Chicago-based ELKAY

Ece Akinci of Turkey, a 2007 marketing graduate, recently accepted a marketing position with Chicago-based ELKAY, a worldwide leader in stainless steel sinks, drinking fountains and kitchen cabinets.

Jack Krecek, a marketing alumnus and a member of the Dean’s External Advisory Board, recruited Akinci for the position. Krecek is vice president of marketing in the Plumbing Products Division at ELKAY.

In an ELKAY memo on Akinci’s achievements, a manager noted “Ece was active in SIUC’s International Student Council, was president of the American Marketing Association, and spent two years as a resident assistant. Ece has lived with her family in Turkey and Saudi Arabia, and is fluent in Turkish, and familiar with French and Arabic.”

“SIU College of Business helped in encouraging my strengths and constructively addressing my weaknesses. Not only did I learn the specifics of my field but I was exposed to many other subjects to develop my vision further. In other words, it prepared me socially and intellectually, which are the two keys to success in the workforce,” Akinci said.

Akinci singled out Marketing Professor Gordon C. Bruner II. “Not only was he my professor and an advisor to the AMA, he was my mentor, sometimes my counselor, and many times my peer,” she said.