João Rui Ferreira is currently the Secretary of State for Economy. He holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Aveiro and a postgraduate degree in Quantitative Methods in Management from Porto Business School. In 2021, he completed the Advanced Management Program (AMP) at INSEAD.

He began his professional career in operational areas such as quality, production management, and general management at WFSCork. Since early 2022, he has served as Executive Director of APCOR, currently acting as General Director with an integrated vision of the cork industry. He is also President of CTCOR, FILCORK, the sector’s interprofessional organization, and the European Confederation of Cork. He previously served as President of APCOR from 2012 to 2021.