Chairman and CEO, INESC TEC | Professor, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto (FEUP)

João Claro is Chairman and CEO of INESC TEC and Professor of Industrial Engineering and Management at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP). His work sits at the intersection of technology management, innovation policy, and institutional strategy, with a strong focus on how research and innovation systems can deliver impact at scale.

He is also Director of the PhD in Engineering and Public Policy at FEUP, President of the Academic Council and Head of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Porto Business School (PBS). In addition, he currently serves as Scientific Director of the UT Austin Portugal Program, and has worked closely with major international partnerships, including as National Director of the Carnegie Mellon Portugal Program, and as a visiting scholar linked to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Between 2020 and 2023, he was a member of the Board of the European Association of Research and Technology Organisations (EARTO).

João Claro holds a PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from FEUP (2008), an MSc in Quantitative Methods in Management from PBS (2002), and an undergraduate degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from FEUP (1993). Prior to returning to academia, he worked as a software engineer and information systems project manager at Edinfor (1994–1998).