Through thought leadership, tools, and community, we reframe midlife not as a crisis, but as a frontier. Because in a world of longer lives and shifting economies, one career is no longer enough.
Our Story
When contemplating a career change, the question “What’s next?” can feel daunting, even for the most accomplished among us.
We created What’s Next to make that experience less isolating and more connective, purposeful, and even joyful.
The three of us, Galya, Gamze, and İstem, connected while navigating our own transitions. One had stepped away from a high-profile corporate career, another had relocated across continents, and the third had followed her heart to a new country. Each of us was in a moment of reflection, searching for clarity, momentum, and meaning.
As we shared our stories, we realized something was missing. While many resources exist for career change, few offer both a structured process and a trusted community tailored to experienced professionals reimagining their path.
That’s why we built What’s Next: a research-informed framework delivered through a safe, peer-driven community. We believe a roadmap is essential, but not enough. Lasting transformation happens through honest conversation, shared learning, and accountability.
Our Founders
Galya Frayman Molinas
Galya Frayman Molinas is a global business leader and co-founder of What’s Next. With over 30 years of experience leading strategy, transformation, and high-performing teams across Latin America, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, she brings a deeply global and human centered lens to career reinvention.
Galya spent over two decades at The Coca-Cola Company, serving as President of Coca-Cola Mexico and in senior global roles including SVP of Global Strategy and Business Unit President for Turkey and Central Asia. Since transitioning from executive life, she supports social entrepreneurs through Ashoka and other changemaker networks, serves on boards and teaches strategy at London Business School.
A longtime advocate for inclusive leadership, she has launched regional chapters of global women’s networks and held leadership roles in foundations and sustainable development organizations. Galya was featured in a Harvard Business School case on leadership in dynamic markets and recognized among Mexico’s 100 Most Powerful Women. She lives in London and serves on the HBS Alumni Board.
Gamze Dinckok Yucaoglu
Gamze Dinckok Yucaoglu is the co-founder of What’s Next, a global initiative helping accomplished professionals reimagine their careers with clarity and purpose. Her own path has included two major pivots—first from an operational role in family business to a decade in research and case development at Harvard Business School, and now into the field of psychotherapy.
Gamze spent over a decade in the corporate world before pivoting into education, serving as Associate Director of Research at Harvard Business School’s MENA Research Center, where worked with esteemed HBS faculty and authored case studies. As an active member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO), she has championed and helped design executive education programs that have attained highest rankings.
She is now pursuing an MProf in Psychotherapy at Regent’s University London, where she explores identity, meaning, and transition through a humanistic lens. Her work is informed by deep listening, systems thinking, and a commitment to creating spaces where leaders can reflect, reconnect, and design what’s next.
Gamze holds a degree in Economics and Psychology from Harvard College and is also an alumna of Harvard Business School.
Founding Contributor
İstem D. Akalp
İstem D. Akalp is a strategic designer, inclusive facilitator, and co-founder of What’s Next. With over 15 years of experience, she designs and leads participatory processes that help individuals and mission-driven teams navigate uncertainty, transition, and collective growth. Her facilitation work—known for being calm, clear, and catalytic—has supported cross-sector collaborations, peer learning cohorts, and global communities across movements and organizations.
İstem has collaborated with leading institutions such as Ashoka, UNICEF, Greenpeace, the Wikimedia Foundation, and Parsons School of Design, where she teaches courses on business models, entrepreneurial strategy, and collaborative facilitation. She is a graduate of the MS Strategic Design and Management program at Parsons, where she received departmental honors and a 100% merit scholarship. She is also an alumna of the U.S. State Department’s IVLP Fellowship on Social Entrepreneurship and a recipient of the Illuminate Luminary Fund.
Born in Turkey and now based in New York, İstem brings a global, equity-driven lens to her work and is committed to designing spaces where people feel seen, connected, and ready to act.
Testimonials