Jury members 2025

 

Ricardo Rio - chair of the jury

Ricardo Rio is the Mayor of Braga since 2013. He is President of the Euro-region ‘Eixo Atlântico’ which brings together 38 of the biggest cities from the North of Portugal and Galicia, Spain. He is also a member of the Executive Committee of the Global Parliament of Mayors since November 2019. Through his years as Mayor of Braga, was invited to be a member of the Champion Mayors initiative of the OECD, which brings together mayors from the five continents who are committed to sustainable and inclusive growth. He is a member of the Portuguese delegation of the Committee of the Regions. In his professional life, he was the Secretary General of the Portuguese Association of Financial Analysts and the Director of the Capital Markets Institute of Euronext Lisbon. At the same time, he kept working as a public and business consultant for several years, having participated in several Programmes of the Porto Business School.

Elisa Ferreira

Elisa Ferreira is a Portuguese economist, and, presently, a Professor in the Faculty of Economics of the University of Porto. After her graduation, she completed her Master and PhD in the university of Reading (UK). During her long career she has lectured in the Faculty of Economics and collaborated with several other Universities; for 13 years she also worked in the public regional development agency for the Northern Region of Portugal were she became Vice President. Between 1992 and 1994 she became Executive Vice President of the Oporto Industrial Association. She served as Minister of the Environment from 1995 to 1999 and as Minister for Planning from 1999 to 2001, under Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres. After two years as a member of the National Parliament, she continued her journey in Europe as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Socialist Party from 2004 to 2016. Elisa Ferreira returned to Portugal to serve as a board member and vice-governor of the Bank of Portugal from 2016 until 2019. In 2019, she became European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, a post she held until December 2024. During her career she was the author of texts, articles and publications edited in Portugal and abroad, and speaker and keynote speaker in conferences and events. Her main subjects of interest being Economy, Urban and Regional Economics and Development, European Affairs, International Economics and Foreign Direct Investment, Environment. Awarded two Portuguese Official Decorations: Grã-Cruz da Ordem do Infante D. Henrique (2024) by the President of the Portuguese Republic Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and Grã-Cruz da Ordem Militar de Cristo (2005) by the President of the Portuguese Republic Jorge Sampaio. Honorary Fellow of EIBA (European International Business Academy), 2023. Career Prize of the Faculty of Economics of the University of Porto, 2013.

Ricardo Martinez

Ricardo Martinez is a Senior Research Fellow in Global Cities at the think tank CIDOB (Barcelona Centre for International Affairs). His research focuses on the international and transnational actions of cities, the localization of the global and regional agendas on sustainability and development, and the contribution of city diplomacy to global climate governance.

 

David Rodriguez

Born in 1981 in Strasbourg, France, from Portuguese immigrant parents, he pursued a career in psychology and management. He earned a bachelor's and master's degree from the University of Minho, followed by postgraduate studies in leadership, diplomacy, and business administration. Since 2012, he has served as Executive Assistant to the Board at the Portuguese Red Cross – Branch of Braga. Previously, he coordinated Red Cross Youth and led the Geração Tecla project. In 2018, he worked in Angola and South Africa as an Organizational Development Delegate. His contributions have earned him prestigious honors, including the Red Cross Merit and Benevolence Medals, as well as the Municipal Merit Medal.