Fuat Oktay was born in 1964 in the district of Chikirk, in the central state of Yozgat. He graduated from the Department of Business Administration at Çukurova University, Adana in 1985.
He received his master's degree in manufacturing engineering and business administration in 1990 from Wayne State University in Detroit, the center of the automotive industry in Michigan, USA. He worked in the automotive and aircraft industry based on his specialization, and then held positions in the Turkish government, the last of which was his appointment as vice president.