Simao Curval

Industrial operations leader and hands-on builder across operations, software, and finance. Eighteen years transforming a Portuguese heavy-industry metalworks (50 people), leading operations, R&D, quality, procurement and IT, and winning the strategic accounts that now drive 70% of revenue. Secured €3.5M in non-dilutive EU funding, scaled robotic welding from 0 to 5 cells, and cut cyberattacks to zero with no IT headcount.

Builds the multi-agent AI systems that run inside the business and the algorithmic trading infrastructure that runs outside it, in production and hands-on in the code. Engineer, operator, builder of rare-combination systems.

HEAD OF OPERATIONS & DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION at Manuel Lopes Curval & Filhos (2008-01 – Present)

Led enterprise-wide transformation of a 50-person industrial organisation across operations, R&D, quality, procurement, and IT.

• Won the strategic accounts, now generating 70% of company revenue, and secured €3.5M in non-dilutive European funding for automation and digital transformation.
• Launched robotics from zero: stood up an 8-person team, deployed 0→5 robotic welding cells (~20–25 FTE equivalent), offline programming lifted capacity +30% with zero CapEx.
• Transformed support functions via technology: distributed quality model (4→1 orchestrator, ~75%), AI procurement agent (FT→20%, ~80%), parallel ISO-compliant quality digitisation.
• Built the digital backbone: ERP, project-level costing with daily margin visibility, KPI dashboards; security stack took successful cyberattacks from 5–6/year to 0 over 10 years, zero IT headcount.
• Directed ~€4M of CapEx over a decade across automation, digitalisation, and infrastructure, driving prioritisation, ROI tracking, and cross-functional accountability.

QA LEAD & PRODUCT OPERATIONS at Tuned Inc. (2021-01 – 2023-12)

• Translated quarterly product strategy into structured release roadmaps with Product and Tech, codifying readiness criteria that tightened the dev-to-production gate.
• Implemented the feedback loop end-to-end (telemetry, user-signal capture, prioritisation pipelines), converting production noise into a ranked backlog feeding the next release.
• Integrated QA discipline into a fast-iteration product organisation: shipped under uncertainty without trading release integrity, anchoring the engineering-to-product interface.

Executive MBA – Porto Business School (2026-01)

Certificate in Generative AI & Responsible AI – Porto Business School (2026-01)

Postgraduate in Finance & Taxation – Porto Business School (2025-01)

International Welding Engineer (IWE) – European Welding Federation (2013-01)

Course in Technology Entrepreneurship – Stanford University (2012-01 – 2012-12)

MSc in Industrial Engineering and Management – Lusíada University (2011-01)

BSc in Industrial Engineering and Management – University of Porto (2008-01)

Course in Networks & Computer Systems Engineering – FCUP (Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto) (2003-01 – 2005-12)

Course in Electrotechnical Engineering – UTAD (University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro) (2001-01 – 2003-12)