Mr Ebeid, who was appointed to lead the nation’s multicultural broadcaster in 2011, was one of more than a dozen honourees who have been recognised for their service to multicultural Australia.
He was recognised as a Member of the Order of Australia (AO).
Moving to Australia with his family when he was still a toddler, the Egyptian-born Australian went on to study business, working for several high-profile companies.
He spent nine years with IBM in Australia and Asia, a decade with telecommunications giant Optus, and three years with the ABC before his appointment to lead SBS.
Mr Ebeid was honoured “for significant service to the broadcast media and multicultural affairs as an executive, innovator and business leader."
The network boss said he was “incredibly honoured” and “very humbled” to have been among so many other outstanding Australians.
"I'm grateful to have the opportunity to work closely with Australia’s multicultural communities and across multiple business sectors, to promote and celebrate Australia’s diversity," he said.
With a background in data and technology, Mr Ebeid has overseen significant investment in the broadcaster's streaming service, SBS On Demand, and has backed internal innovation programs and experimental digital projects.
During Mr Ebeid's tenure at SBS, Australia has also become a regular participant in Eurovision, one of the network’s most high-profile broadcast events.
He has also overseen the network's acquisition of National Indigenous Television, which was relaunched as a national free-to-air channel in 2012.
Other prominent multicultural leaders recognised included Lebanese community leader Dr Jamal Rifi, Italian community leader Giuseppe Migliorino and Jewish community leader Graham Slade.
Michael Ebeid (right) at the relaunch of National Indigenous Television in Uluru, Wednesday, 12 December, 2012. Source: Wayne Quilliam/AAP
Indigenous art dealer and local government veteran Claude Ullin and Palace Cinema founder Antonio Zeccola were also made Members of the Order of Australia for their service to multicultural Australia.
