Born in Ankara in 1986, Gözde Akbayir completed her university education in Business Administration and earned her Master's in Finance at Bilkent University. Fluent in Turkish and English, Gözde is married and a mother to a daughter, residing with her family in Malta. With over 15 years of experience in Travel Agency and Dive Center Management, including a background as a PADI Master Instructor and EFR (Emergency First Response) Instructor Trainer, Gözde has consistently demonstrated her ability to handle complex operations, deliver outstanding customer service, and drive revenue growth. Her technical proficiency as a Trimix Instructor, Tec CCR, & Cave Diver has sharpened her focus on safety and quality, fostering a culture of exploration among her team and students.

Additionally, Gözde has developed expertise in Business Development, Branding Strategies, Public Relations, Website Development, and Content Creation for marketing campaigns. She crafts designs and written content that effectively communicate brand values and inspire engagement. She is eager to leverage her diverse skill set and experience to navigate exciting new challenges, focusing on expanding her impact in niche marketing, community management, and content creation.

Gözde is the first and only woman Trimix Instructor in Turkiye and has supervised the Deep-Water Mix Gas Safety Diving Team for four different World Free Diving Record attempts. She has conducted over 200 Trimix Dives, including missions as deep as -150 meters, and has been awarded by several authorities.

WORK EXPERIENCE

MARKETING MANAGER

2024 – Present | HALCYON DIVE SYSTEMS

Halcyon began as a group of passionate divers who couldn't find the gear they wanted in any dive shops. Driven by our love for diving, we started designing wings and lights to meet our own high standards. We quickly realized that many other divers shared our desire for equipment that could significantly enhance their diving experience, from beginners to those undertaking the most challenging technical dives.

MARKETING COORDINATOR

2024 - Present | GLOBAL UNDERWATER EXPLORERS

Global Underwater Explorers (GUE) represents a global network of GUE communities, empowered by highly refined diver training programsand inspired to explore and conserve the world’s aquatic environments.

GUE is a leader in scuba education, developing numerous industry-first training protocols with a global cast of extremely knowledgeable professional educators and producing divers of exceptional quality. These educational programs enable divers to enjoy a nearly unlimited range of opportunities, including conservation programs, exploration projects, and documentation adventures. GUE-trained divers are found in far-reaching global communities that offer many social and support opportunities alongside a host of unique and challenging underwater projects.

MANAGER, MEDIA & MARKETING

2024 – Present | Ghost Diving USA

Ghost Diving USA, an organization dedicated to ocean conservation. Ghost Diving is a diver-driven organization that aims to rescue our waters from ghost nets—silent ocean threats that harm marine life and disrupt delicate ecosystems. In her role, Gözde promotes the organization's activities globally, manages marketing initiatives, and oversees projects. Her responsibilities at Ghost Diving encompass Oversight of social media and digital advertising campaigns, Management of online community engagement, and building and maintaining relationships with donors, with a focus on acquisition and retention.

VICE PRESIDENT SALES & MARKETING

2023 – 2024 | InDEPTH Magazine

At InDEPTH Magazine (World Leading Technical Diving Magazine), Gözde has fine-tuned her ability to reach diverse audiences, implement strategic ad campaigns, and maintain strong customer relationships. This has led to increased brand visibility, improved customer retention rates, and significant growth in our digital footprint. Her roles at InDEPTH include Social Media and Online Advertising Management, Community Management, Advertiser Relations, Advertiser Acquisition, and retention expertise.

CONTENT CREATOR

2023 – 2025 | PADI Worldwide

Gözde composes articles for various platforms, including PADI's B2B Pro blog, B2C blog, and the Member Magazine Undersea Journal. Her writing spans tech diving, pro-level, inclusivity, and community matters, connecting with a broad and diverse audience base. Among her responsibilities are promoting inclusivity within the diving community and contributing to acquiring dive pros and divers through impactful writing.

COMPANY DIRECTOR

2008 – 2024 | Aqua Club Dive Center

Aqua Club’s story began in 1996, when Asutay Akbayir established Aqua Club Ltd. in Türkiye with a clear vision: to inspire people through the power of the underwater world. What started as a small scuba diving school quickly grew into one of the region’s most respected names in Scuba Diving Education and International Travel Organization.

For over two decades, the Aqua Club has created unforgettable experiences around the globe. From Türkiye and Cyprus to Sharm El Sheikh, Hurghada, the Maldives, Malaysia, and Indonesia, the company organized hundreds of diving and cultural expeditions. Throughout this journey, Aqua Club has trained more than 7,000 divers and diving instructors, welcomed over 20,000 guests, and completed over 600 diving tours, earning numerous awards and industry recognition.

Beyond travel and training, the company also excelled as a distributor for world-leading diving equipment brands, building a strong reputation for its sales and after-sales support.

DIVE MANAGER

2023 | Rebreather Forum 4

Gözde was the dive manager of Rebreather Forum 4, an industry and scientific symposium aiming to improve rebreather diving safety and performance. The event hosted more than 300 CCR experts, manufacturers, and training organization members and leaders worldwide. As an RF4 Team Member, she coordinated the pool event's dive operations, which hosted 100+ dives with ten different CCR units. She also created video content for RF4 social media channels and graphic products for the pool event.

OPERATIONS MANAGER AND DIVE LEADER

2021 - 2022 | Ministry of Tourism and Culture & Tourism Development Agency

With Asutay Akbayir, she trained Mehmet Nuri Ersoy (Minister for Tourism and Culture) and accompanied him on his WWI Commemorative Dive event. Also, in cooperation with the Ministry and its Development Agency, she took an active role in hosting international tour operators on their diving trips to WWI shipwrecks in Gallipoli. The guests were travel experts from Europe, Asia, and Australia.

WEBMASTER

2013 | Red Sea Diving College / Sharm El Sheikh.

Between 2005 and 2018, the relationship between Aqua Club and Red Sea Diving College saw significant growth, leading to a productive collaborative environment. During this period, Gözde, at the invitation of Alain Sobol, the owner of Red Sea Diving College, traveled to Sharm El Sheikh. She served as the company's Web Master and managed the project to create a new website, which was fully translated into Turkish.

TV SHOW CO-PRODUCER and CO-HOST

2010 | Turkish Radio and Television (TRT)

She co-produced and co-hosted a six-episode documentary series on Turkish underwater tourism and heritage, which aired on Turkiye's largest National TV Channel (TRT) and was translated into English for international audiences.

UNDERWATER SEARCH AND RESCUE TEAM

2009 – 2018 | AKUT - SEARCH & RESCUE ASSOCIATION

As an active volunteer member of the AKUT Search & Rescue Association, which has the most prominent members and the widest variety of specialized skills in Turkiye, she took an active role in the foundation of the Underwater S&R team with Asutay Akbayir. In this role, they have trained over 100 AKUT volunteers in specialized underwater search and rescue/recovery techniques.