Hermilio Carneiro Vilarinho Fernandes holds a PhD in Industrial Engineering and Management from the University of Porto. He obtained a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Federal University of Bahia, Brazil, in 1988, and a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the Catholic University of Salvador, Brazil, in 1991. He furthered his education with a Professional Master's in Administration from the Federal University of Bahia in 2004 and a Specialization in Environmental Management and Clean Technologies in 1999. With a diverse and extensive professional background, Hermilio has worked as a university professor in undergraduate and graduate programs since 2009 in Brazil. He has also held leadership roles in engineering across major organizations in Brazil, the USA, Angola, and Japan. His expertise spans Quality Control, Quality Assurance, Project Management, Product Development, and Lean Six Sigma methodologies. He holds a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) by the Project Management Institute (PMI). His PhD research focused on decision models in the water sector, particularly evaluating utility efficiency and optimizing asset management strategies. His academic work has been published in high-impact journals and presented at leading international conferences. Currently, Hermilio is a researcher and consultant at INEGI – Institute of Science and Innovation in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering in Portugal, where he contributes to projects in industrial engineering, quality management, and process optimization. Additionally, he serves as an assistant professor at the Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, teaching Quality Engineering and Management.