Uçanlar, a graduate of Boğaziçi University's Department of Business Administration, began her professional career in 2000. Between 2002 and 2004, she completed her MBA at the University of Michigan in the US and worked as a management consultant at Bain & Company, specializing in the FMCG, healthcare, and private equity sectors.
After working in leadership roles at PepsiCo in the US, Bahar Uçanlar returned to Turkey in 2011, where she held senior strategy and marketing roles at organizations such as Mondelez International, Turkcell, and Kantar Research. In 2017, she was appointed General Manager of Mars Sportif, a position she held for approximately three years.
Following a successful career, Bahar Uçanlar joined Diageo Türkiye in January 2021, serving as the company's Marketing Director for three years and leading numerous significant projects. She has been the General Manager of Diageo Turkey since April 2024.