Carlos is an active member of the Alumni Executive and kindly agreed to be profiled in this issue of the Bulletin! We will continue to feature our Execs in future issues. Carlos worked at IDRC from 1994 to 2001 and is perhaps best remembered as Regional Director of the Latin America and Caribbean Regional Office in Montevideo, Uruguay. In his own words, Carlos fills us in on his life at IDRC and beyond.
After having worked for the AFNS Division as a consultant for some time, I was hired by Tony Tillett, the LACRO RD at the time, as program officer to look after a number of projects in the region. IDRC was going through a round of downsizing and a number of AFNS program officers based in the region had been let go. I was hired on a ten-month contract to manage these orphaned projects. In 1996 Tony left the Centre and IDRC President Keith Bezanson asked me to become the Acting RD and subsequently fully appointed me. I led the LACRO office through some rather turbulent times, including the downsizing of local staff, moving to new premises and being at one point asked by the Board and management to close the regional office. Upon returning to Montevideo, I had the tough task of informing the staff of the Board’s decision. Luckily, this was reversed a few days later.
Auditors’ visits, wardrobe malfunctions, visits from headquarters were always a highlight. Auditors were known to like to audit our books in January, the peak of the summer season in the Southern hemisphere and the main vacation period in Uruguay. LACRO staff particularly enjoyed the timing of these audit visits.
Once, Vice-President Pierre Beemans came on an official visit to Uruguay and the regional office. His luggage didn’t make it and he had an appointment to see a high government official the same day. Given my height (six foot six) I immediately rushed home and got him a coat and a tie.
President Maureen O’Neil visited the office and the region several times during my tenure as RD. Two visits are particularly alive in my memory: a courtesy call to see the Uruguayan President Jorge Batlle, and a trip to Ecuador and Guatemala with a delegation of the IDRC Board. Besides looking after the project visits, I faced a number of practical challenges. While waiting to board our flight in Quito, one person lost her ticket and boarding pass. It was later found in the airport washroom. Upon arrival in Guatemala, we found out that one person had left her suitcases at the hotel in Ecuador. In Guatemala I had to help a Board member shop for a dress to attend a reception at the Canadian Ambassador’s residence.
Beyond IDRC, global leadership in agricultural research, working as a PO and later an RD at IDRC was a key factor in my career from being an agricultural economist involved in international agricultural research, to becoming a research funder and manager. This experience was a valuable stepping stone for my next career move as Director General of the International Livestock Research Institute in 2001. After two five-year terms at the head of this CGIAR centre, I joined the UN International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in Rome as Associate Vice-President for Strategy and Knowledge Management. After two years I returned to the CGIAR as part-time semi-retired advisor to the director of Bioversity International. In 2018 my wife and I moved to Bonn for our retirement.
I am still marginally involved with development research as a senior fellow with the Centre for Development Research (ZEF) of the University of Bonn. Other interests include sailing, hiking, beekeeping, and gardening.
Bulletin No. 71
November 2023