The Council of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) has selected Colombia’s former Minister of Energy and Mines Diego Mesa Puyo as the next CEO and Chairperson of the GEF family of funds.
Mesa Puyo is expected to assume office in October 2026 for an initial four-year term, coinciding with the GEF’s ninth replenishment cycle (GEF-9) and the final phase of efforts to achieve global environmental targets for 2030.
He will succeed former GEF CEO and Chairperson Carlos Manuel Rodríguez, who stepped down in December 2025.
Claude Gascon has served as interim CEO and Chairperson since then. The Council had initiated a formal selection process and planned to interview the final candidates before making the appointment.
Before his selection, Mesa Puyo served as Deputy Chief of the Climate Policy Division at the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
He was Colombia’s Minister of Energy and Mines from 2018 to 2022, where he led energy-transition reforms and promoted renewable energy investment.
The GEF CEO and Chairperson also oversees the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF), Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF) and Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF).
