From her early days as an administrative assistant to her current role as the General Manager of Chevron’s Global Marine Lubricants business and Managing Director of Chevron Belgium, Ayten Yavuz’s career journey spans more than three decades of learning, transformation, and leadership. Hers is a story less defined by title-hunting and corporate milestones, but more by a steady commitment to people, integrity, and progress.
Today, Ayten leads one of the most globally connected marine lubricant businesses in the world, guiding teams that support shipowners, operators, and technical partners across every major maritime hub, including heading Chevron’s business in Belgium. To drive success in these international businesses, Ayten has developed an approach that combines commercial insight and human connection. This is a balance that has come to define her leadership style and underpin her success.
Early Foundations and Career Growth
Ayten’s career with Chevron began more than thirty years ago. “I started out eager to learn and contribute,” she recalls. From business support roles to leadership in sales and regional management, she steadily built a deep understanding of how Chevron’s products and services reach customers around the world.
Each role brought new challenges, from managing cross-functional teams, expanding market reach, to helping to steer the business through changing regulatory and economic conditions, and each contributed insights that would later define her leadership philosophy. “Every stage of my career taught me something different,” she says. “I learned early that collaboration, curiosity, and consistency are what move an organization forward.”
Her journey from office junior to managing director and general manager of two major business units is, by any measure, remarkable. Yet, Ayten rarely speaks of her achievement in personal terms. She believes that true success is found in enabling others to thrive, ensuring that every team member feels valued and empowered to contribute meaningfully.
Leadership Philosophy
When asked to summarize the principles that influence her leadership the most, Ayten points to three: transparency, empathy, and accountability.
Transparency, she explains, is about open communication and making sure teams understand not only what needs to be done but why it matters. “People perform at their best when they see how their work contributes to the bigger picture,” she says.
Empathy gives human depth to teamwork. Ayten believes that understanding what motivates individuals, what challenges they face, and how they experience change is fundamental to unlocking potential. “When people feel heard and respected, they grow in confidence. That’s when teams deliver their best.”
Accountability completes her set. She sets clear expectations and holds herself to the same standards she expects from others. “The core aim is to create a culture where we learn from experience and turn challenges into progress,” she says. Together, these principles form an approach that compliments Chevron’s reputation for reliability and partnership. They also reflect Ayten’s belief that leadership is a privilege, not a position.
Adapting to a Changing Industry
The energy and marine lubricants industry, like so many others, is evolving fast, influenced by new fuel technologies, digitalization, and stricter environmental standards. Ayten has witnessed these transformations first-hand and has learned to lead with adaptability front and center. “As our industry changes, its leadership must change with it,” she notes. “That means listening more, empowering expertise, and encouraging collaboration across every level of the organization.”
Ayten roots her approach in inclusion. Chevron’s teams span continents and cultures, and Ayten sees diversity as a strength that catalyzes innovation. “Different perspectives help us find better solutions. The more voices we bring to the table, the stronger our decisions become.”
Innovation and Customer Partnership
Innovation at Chevron is rarely confined to the laboratory. It happens where technical capability meets customer needs. Ayten and her team work on projects that bring about change and offer practical responses to real-world challenges for their clients.
A recent example of Ayten’s approach to customer service comes from a situation in Singapore, one of the world’s busiest maritime ports. A long-term customer faced an operational challenge that demanded a new way to deliver lubricants to their ships when they were anchored away from the shoreline. There was no cookie-cutter solution she could call upon, so Ayten brought her team together with local partners to listen carefully, understand the issue in detail, and designed a new approach that would give the customer the flexibility they needed. “It was a reminder that innovation often begins with listening,” she says. “When you take the time to understand what people are really trying to achieve, you find better answers together.”
With a novel solution developed, the project went on to strengthen Chevron’s relationship with the customer and demonstrated how inclusive leadership that is built on collaboration, and trust can deliver tangible results even in a complex technical environment.
Elsewhere, she has overseen the expansion of Chevron’s supply footprint in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. This was a strategic move that strengthened service to vessels trading between East and West Africa. “Our aim is simple,” she says. “Customers should be able to access what they need, where and when they need it.”
Balancing Operational Excellence and Future Readiness
Ayten refuses to accept any trade-off between operational excellence and innovation. “Operational reliability and safety are non-negotiable,” she says, “And progress requires continuous learning and controlled experimentation.”
Ayten and her team contribute to Chevron’s mission to lead the supply of advanced lubricant technologies and energy solutions that can support alternative fuels and lower-carbon operations in the shipping sector. At the same time, her business units have to maintain rigorous safety and compliance standards across multiple regions. “Training, knowledge-sharing, and feedback loops are how we translate innovation into daily performance,” Ayten explains. “It’s never just about innovation for its own sake, but more about value, reliability, and long-term partnership.”
This philosophy reflects her pragmatic approach to progress. Chevron continues to work alongside original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), research institutions, and end-users to ensure its products and services meet the evolving needs of the sectors it serves.
Tackling Challenges and Finding Balance
Ayten is candid about the realities of leadership. Balancing global responsibilities with family life, she says, requires flexibility and perspective. “Earlier in my career, I worried about time away from my children,” she reflects. “But I learned that quality time matters as much as quantity.”
Her professional challenges have been no less complex. Negotiating volatile markets, planning for supply-chain pressures, and understanding the impact of new regulations has demanded resilience and placing trust in her team. “I’m fortunate to have a supportive husband and a trusted leadership team,” she says with gratitude.
These experiences have shaped her management style and her outlook on success. “Of course, you cannot avoid facing difficulties in leadership,” she says. “What matters to me is that I respond with integrity and make sure I am always learning along the way.”
Sustainability and Long-Term Vision
Ayten’s leadership also reflects Chevron’s broader commitment to supporting customers as they pursue more efficient operations. “Chevron’s strategy is committed to delivering the energy the world needs today while helping build the energy system of tomorrow,” she says. “We are leveraging our strengths, including our assets, people, technology, and customer relationships, to make that possible.”
Rather than just speaking in aspirational terms, Ayten focuses on practical collaboration. “Change at scale requires effective partnerships across technology, policy, and regulation. Our role is to support progress through reliable, high-quality solutions and a shared commitment to safety and performance.”
Her belief in human ingenuity as the engine of progress underpins this vision. “Technology matters, but people make it work,” she adds. “That’s why developing our teams, and our partnerships is so important.”
Strategic Priorities for the Years Ahead
Looking forward, Ayten has set clear priorities for Chevron Marine Lubricants. The company will continue to enhance digital platforms for customer engagement, invest in lubricant technologies compatible with alternative fuels, and expand its presence at key global industry events.
“Our value proposition,” she explains, “is to provide solutions that help meet our customers’ lower-carbon needs while leveraging Chevron’s proven expertise in marine fuels and lubricants.”
Strengthening brand visibility and thought leadership remains an important part of that strategy. “We must continue to support industry dialogue and communicate openly with OEMs, additive suppliers, and research institutions,” she remarks. “It’s important that we stay ahead of technological and market trends and lend our expertise and research capability to helping the marine industry achieve its goals.”
Advice for Future Women Leaders
When asked what guidance she would offer to women aspiring to leadership roles in the energy and maritime sectors, Ayten’s response is simple but powerful. “Stay true to yourself,” she says. “Real growth happens when you challenge your own boundaries and step into the unfamiliar.”
She encourages women to see both their successes and setbacks as part of development. “No career is without mistakes. What matters is learning from them and moving forward with resilience and authenticity.”
She also believes in mutual support. “Seek mentors, offer help, and share wisdom,” she says. “Collaboration builds confidence, and confidence builds progress.”
Finally, she reminds us that balance is personal. “There are times when work demands more focus, and times when family or wellbeing take precedence. Don’t feel guilty for prioritizing what’s right for you at that moment.”
A Story Still in Motion
Ayten Yavuz’s journey illustrates how discipline and empathy can coexist, and how operational rigor and human understanding together create lasting impact. Through her leadership of both Chevron Belgium and the marine lubricants business, Chevron continues to evolve as a partner to its customers, a supporter of its people, and a contributor to an industry looking toward a lower-carbon future.
So, her story is not one of sudden success, but of steady progress. It’s a reminder that great leadership is less about where you begin, and more about how you choose to grow.
“Chevron has given me the opportunity to grow, develop myself and contribute to a business that spans various continents. I am grateful for the opportunities I was given which have brought me to where I am today.”
