About — LPSN

Who we are

The Lebanese Private Sector Network (The Network) is a group of business leaders and practitioners of liberal professions volunteering and working collectively to respond to Lebanon’s economic collapse, mitigate its impact, and lobby towards long-term revival. The purpose of The Network is to protect the formal economy and promote growth and sustainability through targeted advocacy and job creation initiatives.

Having been directly affected by the dire financial, social, educational, health, and industrial crises, the founders formed a group of private sector influential members within their respective communities resulting in a strong network across all sectors and disciplines in Lebanon to usher change.

The Network aims to defend and revitalize the private sector by mobilizing public opinion and influencing decision makers. The Network advocates for a coherent, efficient, and productive business environment conducive to growth of investment and trade.

Members of our Network

Our Vision

To be the key player in developing a thriving, innovative, and competitive private sector in Lebanon within the framework of a liberal and responsible free market economy.

Our PurPose

To protect the Lebanese formal economy and promote growth and sustainability. We aim to mitigate the adverse impact of the economic, financial, and social crises on businesses and advocate for government reforms that promote a productive and efficient ecosystem.

Our principles of engagement

Lebanon is a cultural and economic bridge between East and West and must always remain. All mutually beneficial bilateral and multi-lateral agreements (trade, economic, social and political) should be upheld, encouraged, and implemented.
Merit based, with fair and equal taxation to all commercial activities and industries.
Free from illicit trade, cross border smuggling activities and any other form of parallel economies.
A free market to fight the brain drain, to contribute to GDP and boost local employment.
A free market that champions innovation, technological advances, R&D, rural sustainability and food security, as well as the development and preservation of Lebanon’s natural resources.
A market that attracts local and foreign investment while providing ease of doing business and an attractive ecosystem.
Our focus will be on the following sectors whereby we will seek best practice policies that address the pressing current and future needs:
Food Security
Infrastructure
Environment
Creative Community
Identity preservation
Financial restructure
Health security
Immediate implementation of strong and deep reforms to all aspects of public and private life and government institutions. systematic bottom-up restructuring will optimize institutional efficiency, stop the leaky bucket syndrome and ensure good governance and accountability.
Reducing the size and impact of the public sector, to become leaner and more productive. Separately we believe in alternative private investments that secure a fast recovery of the public sector entities such as EDL, telecommunication , water, etc. so that they become more efficient and less prone to corruption with electoral services and other unethical practices.
We understand and support the humanitarian plight of refugees and migrant workers and believe in their safe and fair return to their homes. In view of the international dimension of the Syrian humanitarian crisis, we also believe that international organizations and governments should - while prioritizing efforts for refugees’ return to their countries - implement strategies that mitigate the impact of the refugee crisis on local host communities especially the repercussions on the deteriorating Lebanese labor market.
Prioritize, through local, international, and UN mechanisms the return of refugees to their countries and offset the damages incurred on infrastructure, healthcare. education, and environment through investments and grants to offset and repair the resulting adverse impacts.
Adopt a cross sectoral economic strategy that revitalizes production and competitiveness in the primary, secondary and tertiary industries and which supports local industries and businesses during the ongoing crisis. The strategy needs to be anchored in universal economic rights and stimulates development, innovation and investment.
By aiming to achieve a decentralized economic governance and influence, economic development will subsequently be more evenly distributed in regions till now considered peripheral and of less importance, hence providing a fairer opportunities for development projects and job creation.
The network has an unwavering belief that every citizen has rights but also duties and based upon this belief each person must be treated equally with his fellow citizen in claiming these rights and fulfilling its obligations. Only then we will achieve a fair and equitable pact leading to responsible citizenship.

Founding Board Members

Rima Freiji

PRESIDENT. GROWTH & SUSTAINABILITY LEAD
Rima Freiji is the Chairwoman of Tanmia-Lebanon and a Board member and Chief Corporate Governance Officer of Wadi Holdings SAE in Egypt. In parallel she leads performance optimization, top team leadership development, corporate governance, and corporate restructuring initiatives across the Group.
She is a founding member and President of the Lebanese Private Sector Network, a Board Member at the Syndicate of Lebanese Food Industrialists, and serves on several other local and international Associations.
Joe Ayache

VICE PRESIDENT. COMMUNICATION & PR LEAD
Joe founded a&a Porter Novelli.
Joe Ayache was the Group Managing Director of Impact BBDO Beirut, which he joined in 2004 after 13 years as MD of Saatchi & Saatchi Cairo and Beirut.
He is an AUB graduate and has a Diploma in Advertising from Ecole Supérieure de Publicité in Paris.
He has an extensive experience in the communications industry in Lebanon, the Levant, Egypt, Bahrain and Dubai.
He was President of the IAA Lebanon Chapter until 2023 and was a permanent board member for over 20 years.
He also teaches advertising and marketing at ALBA and USJ universities.
Nay El Hachem

GENERAL SECRETARY. LEGAL COUNSELOR & GOVERNANCE LEAD
After graduating from USJ as a lawyer, Nay has been an appeal attorney since 2002, and a lecturer at the Faculty of Law at the Lebanese University from 2004 till 2014.
She was a member of several committees at the Beirut Bar Association where she took part in numerous activities and decision-making actions.
She was a legal counsellor and active member of several associations concerned with health and social development as well as women’s leaders associations.
She sits today on the board of Epsilon Association as its secretary.
Hadi Bsat

TREASURER. LEBANON WORKS LEAD
Hady is founder & CEO of Drapp.me, a cross border health-tech startup for online medical consultations connecting Doctors and Health Specialists with patients.
He is the founder and Chairman of Promedz.com, a reputable Levant medical supplies group representing world renowned medical equipment and devices manufacturers.
Hady serves as VP of Medislb.com, the Syndicate of Medical Equipment and Devices Importers in Lebanon.
He graduated from Wright State University in Ohio and the American University of Beirut.
Andre Abi Awad

LEBANON WORKS DIGITAL PLATFORM
Andre has been a leading consultant on entrepreneurship bootstrapping and growth strategies since 2008. He helps entrepreneurs and companies grow their sales and revenue with out of the box techniques.
He is the founder of Entreprenergy - connecting entrepreneurs to opportunities managing an online community and monthly gatherings connecting like-minded business owners, decision makers, entrepreneurs and investors since 2014.
He is also the CEO of Digital Smarter, a customer acquisition company using smart digital marketing strategies.
Sana El Hajj

LEBANON WORKS EDUCATION UNIT LEAD
Sana has been a university lecturer for the past 19 years and is currently teaching at the Olayan School of Business (OSB) at the American University of Beirut.
Sana is on the advisory boards of several privately held firms, offering strategic business advice to upper management.
Sana is a member of the BOD of Wake, a non-profit organization working on fostering dialogue and acceptance of religious diversity among the Lebanese.
Regrettably Sana departed on 6th February 2024
Riccardo Hosri

ECONOMIC SECURITY & GOVERNANCE CO-LEAD
Riccardo is the CEO of Sacotel SAL- the market leader in telecom, security, automation, and renewable energy operating from Lebanon since 1974 and serving 26 countries in the MENA region.
Riccardo is the Chairman of the Family Business Network Levant (FBN Levant) board, part of FBN International, and board consultant to the Syndicate of Security and Safety Professionals in Lebanon, and chairs the “Survival of the private sector” for the Rassemblement de Dirigeants et Chefs D’entreprises Libanais (RDCL).
Mireille Korab

COMMUNICATION-PR & MEMBERSHIP SUPPORT
Mireille is a Communication and Real estate professional. She is the Corporate Communication Officer of FFA Private Bank as well as the head of Business Development at FFA Real Estate.
Mireille sits on the Board of Directors of REDAL (Real Estate Developers Association of Lebanon) and of Women Leaders Association-Lebanon (WLA). She is also a founding member and sits on the Advisory Board of the "Beirut Institute" - a think tank working on local and global Policy.
Fouad Naayem

MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE LEAD
Fouad is an architect, an entrepreneur, and a results-driven manager from concept design to execution. He has more than 25 years of experience in the architecture and interior design fields having worked on local and regional projects.
He is the current manager of FNA & Partners - a firm he founded in 2004. FNA & Partners is a Lebanese based firm that provides Architectural, Interior and Landscape Design for projects in Lebanon and the MENA region.
Hady Nahas

LEBANON WORKS PROJECTS SUPPORT
Hady Nahas is the owner and CEO of CHIP International and CHIP (Creative Hardware for Integrated Products).
He serves on the Executive Committee of the Lebanese Chamber of Industry and Commerce, and is a founding Member and member of the Executive Committee of the syndicate of Security and Safety Professionals in Lebanon.
He is an active Member in several associations, namely; the RDCL Private Sector committee (GPA), and the Lebanese Private Sector Network (LPSN).
Holds a Bachelor in Electrical Engineering from the American University of Beirut.
Samir Saliba

LEBANON WORKS PROJECTS SUPPORT
Samir Saliba is a Lebanese entrepreneur with over 35 years of experience. He is the founder and owner of Mike Sport, the biggest sports retail store in Lebanon with branches open across the region.
An avid hiker and nature lover Samir is passionate about the environment as well as empowering the Lebanese youth and building the capacity of the Lebanese productive sector. Samir is actively engaged in various community-based activities and Lebanese public life.
Iman Tabbara

ECONOMIC SECURITY LEAD
Iman Tabbara is an Attorney at Law and Legal Consultant. She practices between Saudi Arabia and Lebanon as a general practitioner with a focus on Civil Law, Business Law, Personal Status Law and their derivatives enabling her to provide guidance to local and international clients.
Iman has been appointed as member of the Beirut Bar Association Disciplinary Board for 2021, the Disbarment Committee for 2022 and is also a member in the legal committee of the Women Leaders’ Association.

ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS

BRIGITTE KHAIR

ECONOMIC SECURITY AND EXTERNAL RELATIONS
Formerly Head of UNHCR’s Regional Hub for the GCC, MENA Director - Save the Children’s Humanitarian Leadership Academy, Advisor on Foreign Aid - UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She ran for parliamentary elections in Lebanon in the district of Koura in 2022 with the Shamal al Mouwajaha list. She is now founder and CEO of a tech startup for professional talent ondemand based in Abu Dhabi and working on setting up an NGO in Lebanon.
CHRISTIAN KAMEL

LEBANON WORKS AND FUNDRAISING SUPPORT
Christian a seasoned executive with 25+ years of experience. He holds an MBA and a Graduate Diploma in Public Administration. His focus in on improving business practices and increasing the ease of doing business in Lebanon.
Christian is currently the Chief Development Officer at Fair Trade Lebanon, leading a team of 50+ professionals in various economic development initiatives. He is also the Director of the BIEEL initiative, empowering 100 Lebanese SME's through trade and export facilitation initiatives.
His passion for economic development and dedication to enhancing Lebanon's business climate drives his work with both public and private stakeholders to create a productive, exportoriented economy.
PAUL ABI NASR

ECONOMIC SECURITY AND POLICY SUPPORT
Paul is an industrial executive occupying various managerial positions since 2003.
He is the C.E.O of Polytextile industrial complex.
He now sits on the board of directors of N.A.N group as vice chair and C.E.O. The group spans over industrial, commercial and touristic operations.
He is a member of the board of directors at the Association of Lebanese Industrialists, and chairs the Young Industrialists Committee.
He helped establish and lead the National Taskforce for Technical Vocational Education, he also sits on the Higher Council for Vocational Education in Lebanon.
He holds a Bachelor degree in Mechanical Engineering from the American University of Beirut.
SALMA SABA ASSI

LEBANON WORKS HEALTH UNIT LEAD
Salma Assi is the President of MEDIS, the Medical Equipment & Devices Importers Syndicate, and the Chief Marketing officer of Promed’z Lebanon. She has over 25 years of medical healthcare experience in Lebanon and International market around Eastern Europe, Mediterranean region, Middle East and North Africa.
Previously, she was the president of “Clean Lebanon” where she worked closely to get Lebanon be green again.
Holds a Master degree in General Management, trilingual (Arabic, French and English) and has double Nationality (Lebanese and French)