Hamdi Ulukaya

Hamdi Ulukaya was born in 1972 in Ilic, a small town in eastern Turkey, into a semi-nomadic Kurdish dairy-farming family. Growing up in the mountains, he learned to make cheese and yogurt from his family and developed the resourcefulness that would define his entrepreneurial journey. He studied political science at Ankara University, and in 1994 he left for the United States with $3,000 and almost no English. After briefly attending Adelphi University and Baruch College, Ulukaya took a farmhand job in upstate New York while learning the language. His father's 1996 visit sparked the idea for a feta cheese business, which failed but gave him invaluable food-industry experience. In 2005, he spotted an ad for an abandoned Kraft yogurt factory in South Edmeston, New York, priced at $700,000. He borrowed money from a local bank, purchased the plant, and set out to make the thick, creamy Greek yogurt he had grown up eating in Turkey. Chobani's growth was extraordinary. By pricing below competitors and securing shelf space at ShopRite, BJ's, and Costco, the company reached $260 million in revenue by 2010 and crossed $1 billion by 2012—all without outside capital. Ulukaya personally financed growth by reinvesting profits and operating the factory floor alongside his employees. He declined multiple billion-dollar acquisition offers, choosing instead to build independently. In 2013, a mold recall at Chobani's Idaho factory created a crisis when banks called in loans, but a last-minute financing deal saved the company. In 2014, TPG invested and Kevin Burns joined as interim CEO while Ulukaya remained focused on culture. Under his leadership, Chobani pioneered refugee hiring programs, donated 10% of profits to charity, and became a vocal advocate for immigration reform. Ulukaya has received the Oslo Business for Peace Award and the George H.W. Bush Points of Light Award. He signed the Giving Pledge and lives in New Berlin, New York, with his wife and three children.