Aly Abousabaa is Regional Director, Central and West Asia and North Africa, CGIAR, as well as Director General of the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA). He is a strategic leader in sustainable development, climate change advocacy, and agriculture research in global dry regions. His scope covers North Africa and the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Central and West Asia. In addition to being an active reformer both within ICARDA and One CGIAR, he promotes the global scaling of dryland agriculture innovations to improve the livelihoods resilience of smallholder family farmers under a climate crisis. Prior to joining CGIAR to head ICARDA, he was Vice President of the African Development Bank (AfDB). He led the preparation and execution of the Bank’s key strategies in the areas of agriculture, water, natural resources management, climate change, infrastructure, women, youth and governance. Through mobilizing and managing a portfolio of USD 11 billion, his work made a transformational impact on the lives of millions of people across Africa. At the AfDB, he also helped coordinate climate change negotiations in Africa and acted as Gender Champion. He continues to sit on several international boards and has built up a personal global network of international partners in development. He holds a master’s in civil engineering from Montana State University in the US and a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Alexandria University.