João Leitão is an economist and associate professor (with habilitation/ Agregação) of economics at the UBI – University of Beira Interior, Covilhã, Portugal and a researcher at the NECE – Research Centre for Business Sciences. He is an external researcher at the CEGIST – Centre for Management Studies of the Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), and associate researcher of the ICS – Instituto de Ciências Sociais, University of Lisbon. He is a visiting professor at the Università degli Studi di Bergamo, Italy. He was a visiting scholar at the Friedrich-Schiller-Universität, Jena, Germany. He was an external research fellow at the Max Planck Institute of Economics, Jena, Germany.

He is the President of the APDR - Associação Portuguesa para o Desenvolvimento Regional. He is a member of the ERSAC and the RIS Policy Council, EIT Food. He was the European Council for Small Business and Entrepreneurship director for the Policy area.

He is a member of the Council of the College of Economics and Business Management of the Portuguese Order of Economists (2025-2028).

He is the Director of the UBIExecutive Business School. He was the UBI's Head of University Management & Administration (2009-2012). He also served as the Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre (2000) administrator.

He coordinates the ESG – MBA (UBI) and the Acceleration Programme in Entrepreneurship and Innovation (UBI). He coordinated the Master in Economics (UBI), the Master in Business Administration (UBI), the Executive Master on Entrepreneurship and Innovation in the Bio-Sector (UBI, Universidad de Granada, and Università Politecnica delle Marche), the Master in Entrepreneurship and Management of SMEs (IPPortalegre), and the Master in Engineering and Industrial Management (IST, University of Lisbon).

He was a manager of the LIDL&Ca (1997). He is the CFO of a knowledge-based startup devoted to neuroscience and degenerative diseases. He joined the council of the ‘Observatório: Serviços, Competitividade Urbana e Coesão Territorial’, of the Confederação do Comércio e Serviços de Portugal. He is a member of the Strategic Council of the Ordem dos Economistas. He is an external expert evaluator of the European Commission (Horizon, H2020-MSCA-COFUND and COST), the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, the Ministero dell'Istruzione e del Merito, the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, the Asociación Colombiana para el Avance de la Ciencia, the Agência Nacional de Inovação, and the Tribunal Administrativo de Castelo Branco.

He participated in drafting the Local Development Strategy (LDS) for RUDE - Associação de Desenvolvimento Rural (2001), the National Sports Charter (2012), and the Serra da Estrela Revitalization Plan (2023-2024). Evaluated the Strategy of ADERES - Associação de Desenvolvimento Rural Estrela-Sul (2019). He coordinated the preparation of the Strategic Plan of Comurbeiras - Intermunicipal Community (2008-2009), the Strategic Plan of the Intermunicipal Community of Beiras and Serra da Estrela (2021-2022), and the Strategy of ADERES - Estrela-Sul Rural Development Association (2024).