Sinan Kanatsiz has effectively made his mark as an entrepreneur in the United States. His parents who migrated from Turkey established residency and citizenship in America in the 1960’s where they had and raised Sinan and his Sister Sebnem. In 1998, while studying for a master’s degree at Chapman University, Kanatsiz followed his entrepreneurial spirit and formalized his first company, KCOMM, a Public Relations and Internet marketing agency. The company quickly evolved into a full-service marketing, government affairs and event marketing firm known for its Internet expertise and results-oriented approach. In less than ten years, Kanatsiz grew the firm to several million dollars in revenue, opening business operations and clients in Dallas, New York, Dubai, Istanbul, Montreal, London, Argentina, and Delhi. Currently, KCOMM works with over 100 specialized employees and independent contractors in several countries and has developed campaigns for over 1,000 companies and organizations around the world. These include organizations ranging from innovative start-ups to New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq listed companies such as Oracle, Sony, eBay, T-Mobile, HP, Adobe and the University of Phoenix.
KCOMM’s dedication to strategic programs and results-oriented campaigns has earned the firm several PROTOS awards, the highest honor bestowed by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). The effectiveness of KCOMM’s strategies has become so widely recognized that the firm’s clients have now extended beyond the realm of technology to include elected officials, municipalities and multi-national organizations.
As a consummate entrepreneur and philanthropist, Kanatsiz takes his community responsibilities seriously. In addition to mentoring high school and college students, he is often asked to speak about entrepreneurship and the Internet. He has held engagements at several universities, including USC, Chapman University, UCLA, Cal State Fullerton, Pepperdine, UC Irvine, and Cal Tech. Additionally, he has been a keynote speaker at the Future Business Leaders of American (FBLA) National Conference and is often called to speak on a variety of topics including Social Media, Search Engine Optimization, Email Marketing, Modernizing Government and the future of the Internet.
Kanatsiz’s belief in the power of entrepreneurism and politics led him to be the original founder of a group called Generation NeXt in 2004, a network of young business and community leaders committed to making a difference by empowering others for the betterment of the next generation. Additionally, he founded the Internet Marketing Association (www.imanetwork.org) in 2000, which has a large number of professional members worldwide and its own conference series called “IMPACT”. Past events have included the executives and founders of Google, SalesForce, Tesla Motor, SpaceX, Yahoo, Facebook, Microsoft, St. Regis Hotel, Wahoos, Quest Software, Amazon and YouTube to name a few. Kanatsiz is currently expanding the group globally and involving leaders from Europe, the Middle East, China, and India, working to create the largest association dedicated to Internet Marketing in the world.
While the IMA is a large, global organization, Kanatsiz recently created a spinoff in (2017), called the International Executive Council (IEC), which he founded to focus on the top 100 leaders in Southern California (www.iecnetwork.org). The organization has been hosting monthly events around topics including Social Emotional Learning, Cryptocurrency, Leadership and The Creative Process to name a few.
Kanatsiz holds a B.A. in Communications, with an emphasis in Public Relations, and a Master’s degree in Organizational Leadership with a certificate in Human Resources, all from Chapman University. Kanatsiz was designated Alumnus of the Year by Chapman University in the year 2000. He was also the recipient of the Community College of California Alumnus of the Year Award in 2005. Sinan was named in the Hall of Fame for Santa Ana College in the year 2006. He has also been named as 40 under 40 and a featured Entrepreneur of the Year by OC Metro Magazine. Recognized for his philanthropic involvement, Kanatsiz was appointed a Knighthood and invited to become a member of the Royal House of Savoy by Prince Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy in September 2018. Sinan received the 2019 Ellis Island Medal of Honor for his work in non-profit organizations, public relations, and internet marketing.
To this day, he credits his accomplishments to his Four Pillars of Success: personal integrity; coaches and mentors; family; and education.
Kanatsiz, his wife, Kai, son Archer, and daughter Arden, reside in San Clemente, California.
