Beyene Geleta Kuma was born and brought up in Horo Guduru Wollega, western Ethiopia. He served as a civil servant for eight years prior to joining World Vision Ethiopia in 1994 as Program Development Coordinator (PDC) at Kemise AP to engage in humanitarian and community development works. He worked out his career paths by assuming responsibilities of Planning and Advocacy Manager, Branch Office Director, Ministry Quality Director and Operations Director from 2000 to the end of 2009. From 2003-2009, he served as a member of the Senior Management Team (SMT). He joined Tearfund UK early in 2010 in Sudan as an Area Coordinator and Save the Children Ethiopia in 2013 as Deputy Director of Humanitarian Implementation. 

He worked for World Relief in Sudan in 2014 as Program Manager.  In July 2015, he re-joined WVE as Program Development & Quality Assurance Director with oversight on Grants Acquisition, DME, thematic sectors like Livelihoods & Resilience, Health & Nutrition, Education and Protection & Equity covering cross-cutting themes (faith and development, advocacy, disabilities, gender and child protection) until the rolling out of LEAP 3 was completed in 2016. Then he served as Program Effectiveness Learning and Strategy (PELS) Director from 2016 to 2023 during which he served as a member of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) by and large. Beyene is currently working for WVE as Risk and Compliance Director.

With a desire for academic pursuit from childhood, he joined Addis Ababa University and earned his Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Geography in 1986 and attended his post-graduate studies at Heriot-Watt University in Scotland, UK, where he received the degree of Masters of Urban & Regional Planning (MURP) in 1992. He further pursued theological studies through the Ethiopian Full Gospel Theological Seminary and holds a Master of Divinity and Biblical Studies (MDiv). 

Beyene is married to Belaynesh Gemeda Kistan and father of six children (two daughters and four sons) and grandfather of four children (three grand-sons and one grand-daughter). He lives with his family in Gerji Mebrat Hail in Addis Ababa and worships God at Ethiopian Mulu Wongel Gerji Local Church.