Şenes Erzik was born in the Black Sea town of Giresun on 18 September 1942. He is best known for his work in Turkish and European football, and is a UEFA vice president.
He was educated at Robert College in Istanbul, where he finished high school section and then the college's School of Business Administration and Economics in 1965.[1] He worked in a diverse range of careers for a number of years in fields like banking for the Sınai Yatırım ve Kredi Bank, as a project manager for FAO/UNICEF and is still involved as an executive board member of the Cankurtaran Holding Inc in Turkey. He is fluent in English and French as well as his native Turkish.
He first got involved in football in 1977 when he was brought onto the board of the TFF (Turkish Football Federation). He was elected as the president in 1989, a position he held for eight years until he passed the torch to Haluk Ulusoy. After this he concentrated on his position in UEFA, where he has served since 1990. He has been a UEFA vice president since 1994, and holds a position as the honorary president of the TFF.
He has been instrumental in the gradual success of Turkish football, helping to create better facilities for Turkish clubs and football organisations. He has been credited as one of the main architects of the success that culminated in Galatasaray's UEFA Cup triumph in 2000 and Turkey's third place at the 2002 World Cup. He has also had a large hand in Turkey's bids to host the European Championships in 2012, UEFA Champions League Final in 2005 which was awarded to the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul and the UEFA Cup Final in 2009 which was held in Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium.
Şenes Erzik is married and has a son.