Mario Stephan is currently Head of Philanthropy Diversification and Impact for Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) based out of Geneva-Switzerland. With 20 years of experience in the Aid sector, and more than half of it dedicated to philanthropy and building partnerships, Mario leads MSF’s Web3 strategy from Geneva.

Mario’s experience encompasses a wide variety of roles, from field work to leadership and executive roles, with several international organisations. In the course of his career, Mario has lived and worked in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Afghanistan, Somalia, Egypt, and the UAE. Mario also held regional positions covering eastern and southern Africa, the MENA region, and the Gulf. In the years leading to his present appointment, Mario was the founding director of Arabian Perspectives, a consultancy firm providing expertise and knowledge on the Arab World to the relief and development sectors, and the Executive Director for Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)’s UAE regional office from 2018 to 2022.

Since 2013, Mario has been involved in different governance roles, from regular member to secretary to chairman. He also joined advisory boards of Gulf universities and foundations, bridging the gap with the Aid & Relief sector. He sits currently as a trustee on the board of Greenpeace- Middle East and North Africa.

Mario speaks Arabic, English, French and Spanish, and holds a Master’s degree in Management and Business Administration from the KEDGE business school (Bordeaux, France), a professional trainer accreditation from the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (London, United Kingdom), and Mentor accreditation at Senior Practitioner Level by the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC).