The Council of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) has announced the selection of 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 will serve an initial term of four years, aligned with the GEF’s ninth replenishment cycle (GEF-9) and the last stretch towards 2030 environmental goals.
In addition to the Trust Fund, the GEF CEO and Chairperson leads the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF), the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF), and the Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF).
Prior to his selection as the GEF’s next CEO and Chairperson, Mesa Puyo served as Deputy Chief of the Climate Policy Division of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
As Colombia’s Minister of Energy and Mines from 2018 to 2022, he led “one of Latin America’s most ambitious energy transition agendas,” according to a GEF press release. During his tenure, market reforms mobilized more than USD 3 billion in private investment and accelerated the deployment of renewables “from near-zero levels to one of the fastest-growing clean energy markets in the region.” Mesa Puyo also helped advance energy transition and climate action legislation by embedding sustainability objectives in economic and development policy.
Mesa Puyo will succeed the GEF’s former CEO and Chairperson Carlos Manuel Rodríguez, who stepped down in December 2025 after five years of service, and Interim CEO and Chairperson Claude Gascon, who has led the GEF since December 2025. He is expected to assume his role as the new GEF CEO and Chairperson at the beginning of October 2026.
The GEF serves international conventions on biodiversity, climate change, and pollution, and remains the world’s largest public funder for the environment. Priorities for GEF-9 include:
- Advancing integrated solutions at scale;
- Mainstreaming blended finance;
- Fostering whole-of-government and whole-of-society approaches;
- Securing robust funding for Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and small island developing States (SIDS);
- Scaling up support to Indigenous Peoples and local communities; and
- Increasing efficiency and effectiveness.
The GEF announced Mesa Puyo’s selection as the GEF’s next CEO and Chairperson on 5 August 2026. [GEF Press Release]