Chapter Leader Q&A
Murat Lostar, CISA, CISM
Vice President and Immediate Past President, Istanbul Chapter

Q:  How did you get involved with your chapter board?
A:  My involvement with ISACA started back in 2000. I was looking for a personal certification and discovered CISA. Then, as I spent more time on the ISACA web site, I thought that having a local chapter in Istanbul would be a great benefit for the profession
and local colleagues. The chapter formation process was begun by the late Bozkurt Yuksel. Following his passing, I was chosen to continue and finalize the formation of the ISACA Istanbul Chapter.

Q:  What is one thing your friends know about you that your ISACA colleagues do not?
A:  I started my career as a developer and moved into information systems and networking. In the beginning, IT governance and information security was my hobby. Then, I decided to pursue my passion and resigned from my former company back in 1997 to form a new organization. Thirteen years later, I am very happy to find that I still enjoy my information security and IT governance “hobby” and am being paid for it.

Q:  What is one of your chapter’s greatest achievements to date? Tell us how the chapter reached this goal/achievement.
A:  Istanbul is a giant city with a population exceeding    17 million. We experience traffic jams for several hours and it is very difficult to commute during rush hours. Therefore, the chapter’s meetings are located in a different location each month to allow members from different points in the city to join us. Our volunteer committee has successfully organized a full-house meeting each month. I am grateful to our small, yet very powerful, leadership group. I believe this team, along with new leaders, will organize even better meetings for 2010.

Q:  What is the most important benefit you get from volunteering with your chapter?
A:  Without a doubt, the networking opportunities are beneficial. However, the most important benefit I have found from volunteering is the experience I gained from the chapter formation process. During the process, we had to deal with governmental agencies and wait for a law to be changed before establishing the chapter.

Q:  What is your best piece of advice for other chapter presidents and vice presidents?
A:  As a new chapter president, I have benefited very much from the Leader Resources area of the ISACA web site. It includes a great amount of easy-to-use information, tips and tricks, many of which I have used successfully.