Yagiz "Yaz" Yildiz was raised by an entrepreneurial family in Bursa, Turkey. His parents started their custom cabinetry manufacturing business when he was 4. Yaz spent his time after school and on the weekends on the shop floor, helping his parents with whatever he could. He has seen the many ups and downs of the business and learned how rewarding running your own business is. From an early age, his parents’ journey taught him there are no shortcuts in the world, and that success lies through hard work.

From an early age, Yaz knew that he wanted to study engineering and build computers. Therefore, he pursued higher education in the US, believing that was where the heart of the technology industry was. He committed to learning English at 14 and prepared for the SATs after school and on weekends. Eventually, Yaz attended and graduated from the University of Michigan with magna cum laude in Electrical Engineering. During his time at Michigan, Yaz fell in love with the Midwestern kindness and culture and considers himself an honorary Midwesterner.

After Michigan, Yaz moved to Austin, Texas, and joined Dell Technologies. Again, what excited him was the entrepreneurial nature of the role. Yaz was recruited to a highly selective small team of engineers that reported to the CTO of the Client Product Group at Dell to deliver cutting-edge innovation products. During his time there, the organization grew from 30 to 300+, and he grew with it, leading large teams across continents. During this time, Yaz also authored 50 patents that the USPTO has already granted.

Eager to explore new opportunities, Yaz attended Harvard Business School after seven years at Dell and received his MBA with Distinction, where the faculty named him first and second-year honors. Initially drawn towards their high-paced work environment and exposure to different businesses, Yaz went through the rigorous recruiting process of management consulting firms and interned at Bain & Company during the summer between his first and second year of MBA. Eventually deciding that this was the right time to lean in on his entrepreneurial dream, Yaz started Dune Peak Partners and kicked off his full-time search to find, acquire, and run an extraordinary company.

At Dune Peak Partners, Yaz prioritizes building meaningful relationships with business owners, learning their stories, and finding a business where he can add true value while continuing the legacy and igniting future growth. He is excited to be in the operating seat and hopes to leverage his engineering, product management, and consulting background to help that business thrive in its next phase. He learned from his parents that a business is a lot more than its products and financials, and he is eager to apply the same principle to the company he buys, aiming to make a positive impact on its employees, customers, suppliers, and communities. Yaz sees search as an opportunity to build a legacy his children will be proud of.

On the personal side, Yaz loves to read biographies to draw inspiration and motivation (A Ride of a Lifetime by Bob Iger is one of his favorites). He also likes to stay active through workouts and long runs, and he frequently turns fitness into a social occasion by organizing pickleball games with his friends. Yaz learned to play piano growing up but took a break for the last 15 years and is recently re-learning during his spare time. As a big sports fan, you will find him catching Besiktas and Liverpool soccer matches, Michigan football games, and Formula 1 races most weekends.

Yaz and his wife Roberta met in Austin in 2017 and have been married since 2022. They currently reside in Nashville, TN, but are committed to moving wherever the business Yaz acquires is. They welcomed their first daughter, Lumi, during the second year of his MBA in 2024. Lumi recently started to crawl and take baby steps, and Yaz loves being her walking buddy during her adventures. As a family, they like to go for long walks, check out different farmer’s markets and parks, and host their friends for dinners. Roberta works fully remotely at an ed-tech startup and completely supports Yaz’s nationwide search.