Executive Director of Strategy
Dr. Arzu Kastal is a strategist, educator, researcher, advisor, and visual artist whose career spans financial regulation, organizational strategy, higher education, consulting, arts and cultural initiatives, and community development.
She earned her Ph.D. in Management from Claremont Graduate University’s Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management. Her doctoral research focused on financial inclusion and resulted in the dissertation A New Approach to Measuring Financial Inclusion, which developed a multidimensional framework for evaluating access to and participation in financial systems. She also holds an MBA from Claremont Graduate University.
Before relocating to the United States, Dr. Kastal built a substantial career in Türkiye’s financial and public sectors, including service with the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency of Türkiye (BRSA/BDDK). Her work encompassed banking regulation, financial analysis, institutional oversight, policy development, organizational planning, and complex initiatives involving the financial sector.
She subsequently expanded her work into consulting, education, and institutional strategy. As founder and managing director of CA Business Solutions, LLC, formerly AK Independent Consulting, she has advised organizations in areas including strategic planning, governance, financial analysis, organizational development, business planning, partnerships, and institutional sustainability. Her work has involved organizations and initiatives across higher education, nonprofit and cultural institutions, financial services, healthcare, infrastructure, aviation, energy, and community development.
Dr. Kastal has also taught business and finance at the university level and has participated in educational initiatives integrating finance, management, leadership, technology, and interdisciplinary learning. Her professional interests include financial inclusion, organizational strategy, responsible governance, institutional sustainability, nonprofit leadership, arts and cultural management, and the development of partnerships that translate research into practical community impact.
Alongside her career in finance and organizational leadership, Dr. Kastal is an exhibiting visual artist whose work combines figurative and abstract approaches and frequently explores identity, womanhood, individuality, and personal transformation. Her artwork has appeared in exhibitions and cultural venues throughout Southern California, including the Fullerton Museum Center, Sasse Museum of Art, regional galleries and art walks, and the Art at ONT program at Ontario International Airport.
Her painting “Grace” was selected for the Fullerton Museum Center’s Fullerton: Art Town exhibition, while “Melancholy” received first place in the Pomona Valley Art Association’s Fall 2022 exhibition. Her work “Life” was selected for the Sasse Museum of Art’s SeeMe juried digital exhibition and catalog. In 2026, her painting “After the Dark” was featured in the Summer 2026 exhibition at the Claremont Lewis Museum. Her artwork has also been presented through the Claremont and Pomona art communities and through international online art platforms.
In 2023, following the devastating earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria, Dr. Kastal founded and curated the “You Are Not Alone!” Türkiye Earthquake Relief Art Exhibition at Claremont Heritage’s Ginger Elliott Gallery. Working with approximately 30 Southern California artists and more than 100 donated works of art, the project used the arts as a platform for humanitarian fundraising and community engagement.
At Haven Research & Development Institute, Dr. Kastal serves as Executive Director of Strategy, providing leadership in strategic planning, organizational development, governance, partnerships, education, arts and cultural initiatives, and interdisciplinary programs. Her work supports Haven R&D’s broader mission of connecting research, education, culture, business, and community-based initiatives through practical and sustainable institutional frameworks.
Her professional work reflects an unusual intersection of finance, research, strategy, education, and the arts, with a continuing focus on strengthening institutions, creating sustainable organizations, and using interdisciplinary collaboration to produce meaningful social and community impact.
Academic & Professional References
Claremont Graduate University
Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management
Ph.D., Management — 2019
Doctoral Dissertation: A New Approach to Measuring Financial Inclusion
Claremont Lewis Museum of Art
Claremont — 2026
Selected artwork: After the Dark
Ontario International Airport — Art at ONT
Featured Artist
Terminal 2 Exhibition — January–August 2024
You Are Not Alone! Türkiye Earthquake Relief Art Exhibition
Founder and Curator — 2023
Claremont Heritage, Ginger Elliott Gallery
Fullerton Museum Center
Fullerton: Art Town — 2022
Selected artwork: Grace