Yıldız Günay completed her undergraduate education in Industrial Engineering at Boğaziçi University and her master’s degree in the Economics Department of the same university. She began her career in 1990 at Citibank’s Treasury Department, taking on commercial responsibilities for different asset classes before being promoted to the Treasury Marketing Unit Manager.

In 1995, she joined Cargill, where she held the position of Deputy General Manager, overseeing financial trading units, corporate treasury, and financial operations. In 2004, she established the Cargill – Black River Asset Management Türkiye office and served as General Manager and a Board Member of Cargill Türkiye. Over time, her area of responsibility expanded to include Central Asian and African countries.

Between 2012 and 2021, she served as the General Manager of the Turkish Education Foundation (TEV), leading the institutionalization, digitalization, and enhancement of asset management within the foundation. In 2024, she joined Robert College as the Director of Corporate Development. She is also a Board Member at Tüpraş and Türk Traktör and a Trustee at Kaçuv.