Board of trustees

Dr. Tareq Alzabet brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to ICARDA with his Ph.D. in Water Resources Management from Germany and over 30 years of international experience. His distinguished career includes leadership roles as Deputy Minister and Assistant Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Environment in Canada. In these roles, Dr Alzabet was instrumental in shaping environmental policies and strategies, overseeing and driving significant advancements in environmental research, climate change adaptation, and sustainable development.

Dr. Alzabet's extensive international experience spans countries such as Jordan, Libya, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman, Kuwait, and Qatar. He has collaborated with numerous international development agencies, including UNDP, UNEP, USAID, CIDA, UNESCO, the European Commission, IDRC, and GIZ. His expertise in board governance is further evidenced by his roles on multiple boards, chairing and member of the enterprise risk management (ERM), finance, environmental and social governance (ESG), human resources, and environmental stewardship, combined with his commitment to impartiality, integrity, and sustainability,

Mouwafak Jbour  joined the ICARDA board in the spring of 2018. He has served as deputy director general of the General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Research within the Syrian Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform since 2015.

Between 2006 and 2012, he led the Syrian government’s institutional development of organic agriculture. He has published widely on topics of organic agriculture systems, emerging farming systems, and potato physiology and varieties. He serves as a member of the board of directors of the Higher Commission for Scientific Research in Syria.

He received his Ph.D. in agronomy in Warsaw, Poland.

Aly Abousabaa became ICARDA’s director general in October 2016. He brings 33 years of strategic leadership in sustainable development, operational and policy-based lending, and project management, spanning 35 countries in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.

As vice president of the African Development Bank, Abousabaa led the preparation and execution of the Bank’s key strategies. He was also in charge of resource mobilization and management of a US$ 11 billion portfolio in the areas of agriculture, water, natural resources management, climate change, infrastructure, women and youth, and governance, making transformational impact on the lives of millions of people in Africa.

He has an established global network of international partners on development, including the World Bank, the United Nations, European Union, African Union, bilateral agencies, such as GIZ, DFID, and NORAD, and non-governmental organizations.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Alexandria University, Egypt, and a master’s in civil engineering from Montana State University in the United States. 

Prof. Charles Spillane is an Established Professor of Plant Science and leads the Agriculture, Food Systems, and Bioeconomy Research Centre at the University of Galway, Ireland. With a career spanning agricultural research for sustainable development and poverty reduction, he has worked with leading organizations, including CGIAR and FAO, contributing to the 2001 International Treaty on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.

From 2016 to 2024, he directed the Ryan Institute for Sustainability, expanding it to over 100 research groups and €12 million in annual funding. He founded the MSc in Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security (MScCCAFS), training over 200 graduates in tackling global challenges.

With over 230 publications and extensive experience in research leadership, Prof. Spillane is a passionate advocate for interdisciplinary agricultural innovation to achieve sustainable development goals.

H.E. Ambassador Josefa Leonel Correia Sacko, an Angolan agronomist, is the African Union Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy, and Sustainable Environment. With over 20 years of experience, she has held prominent roles, including Secretary-General of the Inter-African Coffee Organization (IACO), where she championed small-scale coffee farmers and established Regional Centres of Excellence across Africa.

Ambassador Sacko has served as a Special Adviser on climate change, food security, and poverty reduction in Angola and was a key negotiator at COP21 and COP22. Her international engagements span the WTO, AU, FAO, AfDB, and UNECA, among others.

Recognized globally, she has received numerous accolades, including being named one of the 100 Most Influential Africans and receiving the Lusophony Prize 2024 for her contributions to sustainable development and climate resilience. Fluent in five languages, she advocates for African farmers and sustainable practices.

An experienced consultant with over 15 years of diverse professional experience in ethics, integrity, fraud risk management, investigations, training, auditing, risk advisory and compliance monitoring in various industries. These include humanitarian and development, financial services, manufacturing, telecom, transport – airlines, oil and gas, hotel, agribusiness, and public sector. Global expertise from working in Africa, the Middle East, Asia Pacific, the Caribbean, Europe and the United Kingdom.

Emmanuel Sackey, a Ghanaian expert in food science and intellectual property, holds an M.Phil. in Food Science and Technology specializing in Product Development and Food Biotechnology, along with multiple degrees and certifications in chemistry, education, French studies, and project management. A recipient of the prestigious WIPO Fellowship, he pursued advanced biotechnology and intellectual property studies in Sweden in 2000.

Sackey has significantly contributed to Ghana's National Agricultural Research Programme, post-harvest agro-processing, and integrated technologies. He played a key role in developing ARIPO protocols on traditional knowledge and plant variety protection and served as an African Facilitator at WIPO negotiations.

With over 48 articles and four books published, he is a global advocate for IP policy, innovation, and economic growth. He lectures at three African universities, serves on the AfricaRice Centre board, and chairs the Intellectual Property Network Ghana.

With over 30 years of leadership and management experience in technology, knowledge management, and communication within the development sector, Enrica has provided strategic guidance to several international organizations. A proven innovator and creative thinker, she currently serves as the Head of the Information Technology Department at CERN, one of the world’s foremost centres for scientific research and innovation, home to the world's largest particle physics laboratory. Previously, Enrica was Chief Information Officer and Director of the Technology Division at the World Food Programme (WFP), where she oversaw the organization’s digital technology strategy and systems across its global operations. Concurrently, she chaired the UN Emergency Telecommunications Cluster. Enrica also spent 15 years at the CGIAR Consortium, holding various leadership roles, including Director of Shared Services, Acting Director of Communications, and Chief Information Officer. Enrica is a Fellow at Stanford University's Reuters Digital Vision Fellowship Programme and holds two Master's degrees in Social Sciences and Finance. 

Faouzi Bekkaoui is the Director of INRA Morocco. He was previously the Director of the Agriculture School and the coordinator of the AgroBioSciences Research program at the University Mohammed 6 Polytechnic (UM6P) Benguerir. Bekkaoui has also worked in the Wheat Improvement Flagship Program at NRC Canada 2012-2017, the NRC Plant Biotechnology Institute (PBI), ID Biomedical in the area DNA diagnostics, and Genome Prairie.  During his career, Faouzi has co-authored 38 peer-reviewed publications in the areas of DNA diagnostics, molecular biology, genomics, and plant physiology. He holds three U.S. patents involving DNA diagnostics.

Bekkaoui holds a Bachelor in Physiology from the University of Tours and a Ph.D. in Plant Physiology from the University of Sorbonne (ex-Paris 6). 

Michel Afram is the Director General and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute (LARI). An agronomist by training, he is a specialist in agricultural education and policy and, amongst others, holds the positions of Deputy Director of the Global Association of Francophone Agricultural and Food Processing Universities, and Vice President of Confremo (conference of Francophone Universities and Institutions in the MENA region). Dr. Afram is also a member of the Lebanese Higher Agricultural Council, Professor at the School of Agriculture at Saint Joseph’s University, and a member of several Lebanese national committees pursuing improved agriculture and food production.

Dr. Afram is a recipient of the French Order of Academic Palms (Ordre des Palmes Academiques, 2016) for his work in teaching, scholarship and research. Dr Afram has received multiple other awards, including the Golden Award for Best Research and Practice from the European Society for Quality Research and the London-Oxford-Award for his research activities. Since 2018, Dr Afram has received various Bizz business excellence awards, including the Pinnacle of Success prize in 2021.

Dr. Nick Austin is an internationally recognized agriculture and natural resources expert, with extensive experience across public, private, and non-profit sectors in Australia and globally. He is President of Australia's Policy Advisory Council on International Agricultural Research, chairs the Agriculture and Food Forum at the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE), is Deputy Chair of the Zero Net Emissions from Agriculture Cooperative Research Centre, and is a member of the governing board of Bill & Melinda Gates Agricultural Innovations LLC, a St. Louis-based startup focused on accelerating technology translation. Previously, Nick was the Director of Agricultural Development at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in Seattle. He has also held key leadership roles, including interim Executive Director of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) in Montpellier, CEO of the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), and Executive Director of Agriculture and Deputy Director-General of Science and Research at the NSW Department of Primary Industries. Originally from a sheep station in Far North South Australia, Nick holds a B.E. (Agriculture) (Hons); a Master’s in management; and a PhD in sustainable water and fertiliser use in Australia’s irrigated dairy industry. He is an elected Fellow of ATSE, a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and an experienced non-executive director. 

Ruth Haug is a Professor of International Development Studies at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU). She received her PhD from the University of Maryland and began her professional career working nationally and internationally within the field of food security, dryland agriculture and rural development. At the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ruth Haug was Deputy Vice-Chancellor in the period 2008-20013, and before that, she headed the Department of International Environment and Development Studies (Noragric) for seven years. Her field of expertise is within food systems, food security and international food policy; conflicts, forced migration and humanitarian action; climate change and management of natural resources; and gender issues in development. Ruth Haug has research, teaching and consultancy experience in Africa and Asia, and has worked with NORAD, the World Bank, and the Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture. She has supervised many M.Sc and PhD students and has a good publication record. Ruth Haug has been a member of numerous national and international boards and committees, and she has been involved in several international policy processes in relation to food and agriculture. In particular, she has been representing Norway in CGIAR meetings in the period 1995 to 2012 and has been a member of the CGIAR Fund Council. She was a member of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) Board of Trustees until the end of 2017, chairing the program committee. She has also been representing Norway in several CFS and FAO meetings and was a member of the Svalbard Seed Vault Council for eight years.