Wassim Beaineh

Wassim Beaineh joined the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) as Chief Operations & Development Officer in February 2026. He brings over 18 years of international experience spanning institutional leadership, operations, partnerships, and program development across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

Prior to joining ICBA, Wassim served for six years as Regional Manager for the Middle East and North Africa at Wageningen University & Research (WUR) in the Netherlands. In this role, he advised the Executive Board on regional strategy, led institutional partnerships, and expanded WUR’s engagement in education, research, and innovation across the MENA region, working closely with governments, multilateral institutions, academia, and the private sector. He also represented WUR in major international consortia, including LEAP4FNSSA, a large-scale EU–Africa partnership on food and nutrition security and sustainable agriculture, where he co-led coordination and strategic engagement with over 35 partners across Europe and Africa.

Earlier in his career, Wassim held senior leadership positions with the Dutch Red Cross, where he managed regional portfolios across West Africa and the Caribbean, overseeing country offices, operations, and donor relations. He also served as Country Director for Hilfswerk Austria International in Tunisia, leading large-scale economic development programs focused on youth employment and women’s entrepreneurship, generating over 1,200 direct jobs and establishing a sustainable national organization. His early professional experience includes work in Sudan and South Sudan within the private sector, where he designed corporate social responsibility programs centered on education and skills development.

Alongside his executive roles, Wassim has been actively engaged in governance and advisory functions. He serves on the Supervisory Board of SPARK, a Dutch NGO focused on higher education and entrepreneurship in fragile contexts, and represents the Lebanese Emigrants Research Center (LERC) in Northern Europe. He has also held advisory roles related to climate action, sustainable development, and institutional transformation.

Wassim holds an MBA from the University of Leicester (UK) and a Bachelor of Engineering in Computer and Communication Engineering from Notre Dame University (Lebanon). He is fluent in Arabic, English, French, and Dutch.