Dr José Ramón López-Portillo Romano is an academic, entrepreneur, diplomat, consultant and public servant. An economist by origin, he has a PhD in Political Science from the University of Oxford, where he co-founded and coordinated the Center for Mexican Studies. He was Undersecretary of State and Permanent Representative of Mexico to the UN organisations in Rome, Italy, and Independent Chairman of the FAO Council.

He has a multifaceted professional experience, which he has applied to address, from different angles, the impact of accelerated scientific-technological change. He has written articles and a book on the subject and advises the Mexican government on science and innovation diplomacy. He is a representative of Mexican industrial confederations in the U.K. and Nordic countries and has co-founded several think tanks and companies. The UN Secretary-General re-nominated him as a member of the Group of 10 experts on the Technology Facilitation Mechanism (2018-).