Lawyer by profession, politician by choice, and conservationist at heart, Carlos Manuel Rodríguez was elected as CEO and Chairperson of the Global Environment Facility by its governing body, the GEF Council, in June 2020.

Dr. Fonseca was the Director of Programs at the Global Environment Facility. Responsibilities included overseeing the portfolio of investments in biodiversity, climate change mitigation and adaptation, forests and REDD+, transboundary marine and freshwater conservation, chemicals and sustainable land management. A tenured Professor at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) in Brazil, he was the first Executive Director of Center for Applied Biodiversity before becaming the Chief Conservation and Science Officer of Conservation International.