Pierre Besnainou was born in 1954 in Tunis, Tunisia, and holds French nationality. He began his career as an entrepreneur importing gadgets and calculators from Hong Kong, later expanding into radios and televisions. In the late 1980s, he founded Kaisui, a company formed from elements of Akai, and subsequently entered the internet sector by co-founding LibertySurf, an early internet service provider in France. Besnainou has been involved in Jewish leadership, serving as Chairman of the European Jewish Congress (noted in a 2005 visit to the European Commission) and as former President of the European Jewish Congress, as well as President of the French Judaism Foundation from January 2010 to 2014, succeeding David de Rothschild. His professional network includes connections in Herzliya, Israel, reflecting ongoing engagement with international Jewish organizations.