Halil Demirdağ, Chairman of the Board of Smart Solar Technologies (Smart Güneş Enerjisi Teknolojileri, BIST: SMRTG), was born in 1975 in Kaptanpaşa, Türkiye. He holds a bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering (English program) from Boğaziçi University, one of Türkiye's leading technical universities, and is married with three children. He began his career as an entrepreneur in international consumer goods trade during his university years, later founding and serving as CEO of Everest Group (1996–2006), a family-owned trading company. In April 2009, he founded Smart Energy in Bulgaria as a renewable energy investment platform, which grew into Smart Solar Technologies, established in Istanbul in 2014. Under his leadership, the company expanded across nine countries — Türkiye, Bulgaria, Romania, Greece, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Ukraine — building an integrated business spanning solar module and cell manufacturing, EPC turnkey installation, project development, and financing solutions.

Smart Solar Technologies listed on Borsa Istanbul in March 2022, drawing demand 9.5 times its offering from over 101,000 investors. The company operates two manufacturing bases in Türkiye — in Gebze and Aliağa (Izmir) — with a combined solar module production capacity of approximately 2.4 GW, solar cell capacity of 2 GW, and wafer production capacity of 1.5 GW, employing more than 1,000 people and exporting to customers in over 20 countries across Europe, the MENA region, and the Americas. The Aliağa integrated cell-and-module facility, which achieved commercial cell production in 2024 and domestic wafer production in mid-2025, received investment incentive approval through a Presidential Decision — one of the most difficult incentive designations to obtain in Türkiye — reflecting the project's strategic role in the country's energy supply security and vertical solar manufacturing integration. Building on its export presence in the Americas, the company has established a corporate presence in the United States and is actively evaluating investment opportunities there, with module and cell manufacturing capacity in the U.S. forming part of its strategic growth plans.

Demirdağ has held leadership roles in the Turkish solar industry association GENSED (now the Solar Energy and Storage Industry Association), first elected Chairman in 2018 and re-elected in 2021; after an interim period, he was elected Chairman for a third term in May 2025, when the association also broadened its remit to include energy storage. Beyond Smart Solar Technologies, he holds ownership interests across a group of companies spanning solar equipment, EPC, green hydrogen, and green mobility in Türkiye, alongside investment holdings in Bulgaria, Ukraine, Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands.