Board of Trustees
His Beatitude Patriarch John X
His Beatitude is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees at the University of Balamand.
On 17th February, 2013 He was enthroned Patriarch of Antioch and All the East for
the Greek Orthodox Church.
He previously served as Dean of the St. John of Damascus Institute of Theology at
the University of Balamand from 1988 till 1991 and from 2001 till 2005. He is the
author of a number of spiritual and liturgical publications.
His Eminence Metropolitan Ephrem Kyriakos
His Eminence Metropolitan Saba Isber
His Eminence Metropolitan Antonios El Soury
Mr. Sami Abi Esber
Mr. Sami Abi Esber is a shareholder and President of MDS Gulf Group and a board Member
of Midis Group (a leading IT Group with companies in Middle East, Africa & Central
Europe). He’s also a Member of the Advisory board of major Technology companies
(Microsoft, HP, Dell/EMC) and Member in the World Economic Forum.
Dr. Nadeem Abu-Rustum
Mr. Walid Barake
Mr. Jamal Daniel (Honorary)
Mr. Jamal Daniel is the President and Chairman of Crest Investment Corporation. He
is the founder and director of the Levant Foundation in Houston, Texas and Al-Monitor
(www.al-monitor.com), a news website focused on in-depth coverage and fresh perspectives
from the Middle East. He is also co-founder of the Center for the Global South at
American University in Washington DC.
Mr. Fares Fares
Mr. Fares Fares is the Director and Executive Vice President of WEDGE Group Incorporated,
and the Senior Vice President and Chairman of WEDGE Real Estate Holdings. He is
a member of Tufts University’s Board of Trustees and Board Member of the Houston
World Affairs Council. He is also the Director of the East West Institute, founding
Board Member of the Lebanese International Finance Executives, and Chairman of Endeavor
Lebanon.
Mr. Bassam Freiha
Mr. Bassam Freiha is the CEO of Dar Assayad, with offices in Abu Dhabi, Cairo, Damascus,
Dubai, Kuwait and Riyadh, and service offices in London and Paris. In addition to
Assayad, the flagship weekly, Mr. Freiha oversees the creation and production of
11 publications. He established The Said and Hassiba Freiha & Sons Foundation
for Humanitarian Services.
Mr. Alexis Habib
Mr. Fayçal El-Khoury
Dr. Salwa Khoury
Dr Salwa Khoury is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Economics at the American University
in Dubai. Dr Khoury is a member of the International Board of Regents of Bethlehem
University in Palestine, of the Board of Directors of World Links – Arab Region
in Jordan, and of the Board of Trustees of the Children’s Cancer Center in Lebanon.
Dr. Georges Makhoul
Dr Georges A. Makhoul serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Constellation Holdings.
He is the Former President of the Middle East and Africa at Morgan Stanley. He was
also Managing Partner of Consulting Practice at PWC Japan. Dr Makhoul serves also
as a Director of Al-Daman Securities LLC and the Female Health Company.
H.E. Mr. Elias El-Murr
Mr. Elias Murr is the Chairman of the Board and President of the Interpol Foundation
for a Safer World. He served in the Lebanese Government as Deputy Prime Minister,
Minister of National Defense and Minister of the Interior and Municipalities, and
Minister of Foreign Affairs. He is a Former President of the Lebanese Interior Security
Council (2000 - 2004) and the Arab Interior Ministers Council (2002-2004).
H.E. Dr. Hassan Risheh
Dr Hassan Risheh was the Minister of Higher Education in Syria from 2000 till 2003.
He is Former Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Syrian Arab Republic
to the Russian Federation. He is also a faculty member at the University of Damascus,
and a Former Visiting Professor at the American University of Houston.
Mr. Adnan Takla
Mr. Adnan N. Takla is a developer and general contractor with projects in Syria and
Europe. He is a member of the advisory Board of Bank Audi Syria. He also served
as a Director of Bank Audi Syria.
H.E. Mr. Nicolas Tueini
Mr. Nicolas Tueini was appointed Minister of State for Combating Corruption in December
2016. He is the Founder and CEO of Orient Manufacturing & Trading Co. SARL (Omatra),
involved in trading and sales of spare parts of vehicles and industrial equipment.
He is the Founder of Al Khayriah Jean Tueini.
Mr. Abdallah Zakhem
Mr. Abdallah Zakhem is the co-founder and president of Zakhem International Construction
Group. He is a member of the board of directors of the Arab-American Chamber of
Commerce and the former President of Association of Banks in Lebanon (ABL).
Mr. Salim Zeeni
Mr. Salim Zeenni is the owner of Zeenni's Trading Agency, a manufacturing and
distribution company of insecticides, detergents, cosmetics, and others. He is the
President of the American Lebanese Chamber of Commerce (AmCham Lebanon), Vice President
of the Chemical Industries Syndicate and member of the Executive Committee of the
Children Cancer Center of Lebanon.
Dr. Nayla Comair-Obeid
- - Founding partner of Obeid & Partners, and head of the firm's dispute resolution practice.
- - Professor of Private Law and International Commercial Arbitration at renowned national and international universities.
- - Served as Vice Chair of the ICC from 2022 to 2024, and a member of the ICC Executive Board from 2019 to 2024.
- - Associate Member at 3VB Barristers Chambers in London and Board Member of Women’s Leadership Board (WLB) of the Women and Public Policy Program (WAPPP) at the Harvard Kennedy School.
- - Identified amongst the world’s foremost arbitrator practitioners, actively involved in more than 170 domestic and international arbitrations.
- - Authored The Law of Business Contracts in the Middle East (Kluwer Law) and numerous other publications.
Mrs. Michele Chammas Garzouzi
- -
Serves as the Chief Innovation Officer of MEDCO Holding.
- - Majored in International Relations from Mills College, CA.
- - Board Member of the Chamber of Commerce Industry and Agriculture of Beirut and Mount Lebanon, the Beirut Marathon Association, the Lebanese Arm-Wrestling Association, Rebirth Beirut Association, the Children Cancer Center and an Alumni of HBS.
H.E. Mr. Nazih Najem
- - Served as Deputy in the Lebanese Parliament from May 2018 till 2022. He was also the Chairman of the Public Works, Transport, Energy and Water Committee in the Lebanese parliament.
- - Majored in Industrial, Corporate and Commercial Accounting.
- - Served as Chairman of the Syndicate of Marble, Granite and Concrete Products’ factories, the Egyptian/Lebanese and the Beirut Traders Association.
- - Board Member of the Lebanese Indian Friendship Society –ADLIR, and the Saint George University of Beirut.
- - Recipient of various accolades including a medal of recognition from the President of the French Republic in 2016.
Mr. Samer Daniel
- - Serves as CEO of Danial Capital, a single family office based in Houston TX, and the CEO of Across Asset Management Inc., a commercial real estate investment and development company.
- - Majored in Mechanical Engineering and Business Administration for the UK and France.
- - Founder and Vice chairman of Arab Bank - Syria, from 2009 to 2014.
- - Board Member of Qloo Inc. in New York, CES Renewables in Houston, ARD Group and Jabbar Internet Group in Dubai.
Mrs. Tania Issa Semaan
- - Chairman of Blu Stone Management, a family office based in Dubai dedicated to overseeing the investments of the Souraya Family Trust, established in 2017 by her late husband, Maroun Semaan.
- - Founder and Director of the Semaan Foundation, a charitable organization addressing educational, social, environmental, and health-related needs in Lebanon.
- - Serves on the Advisory Boards of several esteemed organizations, including the Children’s Cancer Center of Lebanon, affiliated with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and the American-Mideast Education and Training Services (Amideast) in Lebanon.
- - Awarded an honorary doctoral degree during the 50th Commencement Ceremony at UMass Chan Medical School in June 2023 in recognition of her contributions.