Darc Costa is graduated in engineering from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro; he is a consultant in the area of planning for several institutions; he holds a master's degree in production engineering from PUC/RJ; a doctorate in production engineering from COPPE/UFRJ; he is a visiting professor in the postgraduate program in Production Engineering at COPPE/UFRJ, where he taught courses on National Strategy; from 2003 to 2004 he served as vice president of the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES); he is a lecturer at the School of Public Policy and Government at UFRJ; he is a member of the Board of Directors of the Brazilian Center for Strategic Studies (CEBRES); he is an advisor to the Center for Strategic Studies at the Escola Superior de Guerra, where he was coordinator between 1999 and 2002; he is an advisor to the Holding ALGAR S.A. - Uberlândia-MG; a foreign correspondent for the International Academy of Portuguese Culture; and a managing partner at DLC - Desenvolvimento, Logística e Cenários Simples Ltda.; president of the Brazil-Venezuela Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Rio de Janeiro and president of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of South America.