İpek Ilıcak Kayaalp graduated from the Economics Department of the Middle East Technical University in 2000. She worked in asset management and finance at various international companies until she joined Rönesans Holding in 2006, where she served as a member of the Executive Board and held the role of Head of Treasury until 2014. In January 2014, she was appointed Chair of the Board of Directors of Rönesans Holding.

İpek Ilıcak Kayaalp is a member of the Board of Trustees and the Board of Directors of the Rönesans Education Foundation, she actively participates in various notable non-governmental organizations. Since 2024, İpek Ilıcak Kayaalp has been a member of the Business Advisory Board at UNICEF Türkiye due to her efforts in Rönesans’s 2023 Gaziantep-Kahramanmaraş Earthquake aid.