Ricardo Conde is a father of two beautiful girls. He graduated in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Instituto Superior Técnico (IST) – Technical University of Lisbon, with a background in Telecommunications, Radio frequency, and Space and Ground Systems.

Ricardo has more than 30 years of working in the industrial and institutional space sector. He began his professional career in 1991, having been linked to the Aeronautics and Space sector since 1993, having participated in several national and international Space programs, particularly in Space and Ground Segments.

Since 2019, Ricardo has been a member of the board of directors of the Portuguese Space Agency, and in 2020, he was appointed President of the Agency.

He has been participating as a panelist and keynote speaker in several International Space Congresses, particularly on the emerging new space agencies as new actors in Space, Space sustainability, and the role of Space in a sustainable planet.

In 2022, Ricardo was the chairperson of the Eureka Network, the largest international network to promote Science and Innovation for SMEs, during the Portuguese presidency of this international organization.

Currently, he is the Portuguese representative and head of the delegation to the Council of the European Space Agency (ESA), to the Council of European Southern Observatory (ESO), and the Council of the Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO).

In March 2024, the Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education awarded Ricardo Conde the Medal of Scientific Merit.