Carlos Moedas was born in 1970 in Beja and graduated as a civil engineer from Instituto Superior Técnico (Lisbon) in 1993. He attended the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées in Paris (1993) and in 2000 he graduated with an MBA from Harvard Business School.
After his graduation from Harvard he worked for Goldman Sachs in London. In 2004 he became head of Aguirre Newman and member of the executive board in Spain. In 2008 he created his own investment management company.
In 2011 he headed the Social Democrat Party's (PSD) economic team, was elected Member of Parliament and appointed under-Secretary of State to the Prime Minister where he coordinated the adjustment programme structural reforms.
In 2014 he was nominated European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, managing one of the largest innovation programs in the world. He designed the Horizon Europe program worth 100 billion €.
In 2019 he joined the board of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. He is also vice-president of the Jacques Delors Institute in Paris.
Carlos Moedas co-authored a series of publications in the field of science and innovation, including 'Open Innovation: Research, Practices and Policies' published by California Management Review, co-signed by Henry Chesbrough.
He was awarded a Honorary Doctorates by the University of Cork (Ireland), the ESCP Europe (France), the NOVA University (Portugal) and the Timisoare West University (Romanie).
On September 26, 2021, he was elected Mayor of Lisbon.