Native of Recife, Maria Fernanda Coelho holds a degree in journalism from the Catholic University of Pernambuco and a diploma in Corporate Finance from IBMEC. With vast experience in public management, she started off as an employee at Caixa Econômica Federal (CAIXA), where she eventually rose to CEO in 2006, remaining in office for 5 years. She subsequently became Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of Caixa Participações (CAIXAPAR) and a member of the Boards of Directors of CAIXA and CAIXA SEGUROS. She also served as Director of Institutional Relations of the Guarulhos Airport Concessionaire, as Executive-Secretary of the Ministry of Agrarian Development, and Under-Secretary of the Interstate Consortium for Sustainable Development of the Northeast – Consórcio Nordeste. The last position she held was as Executive-Secretary of the General Secretariat of the Presidency. In June 2024, she was appointed Director of Digital Credit for MSMEs at BNDES.