José Nunes de Almeida Neto has a degree in Electrical Engineering from the Federal University of Ceará and started his professional career as an Electrical Engineering professor in that university.
He joined Enel Group in 1984 and has held several positions since then, including Head of the Substation Maintenance Division and Head of the Transmission Management Department, both in the state of Ceará. In May 1990 he was appointed Distribution Superintendent for Fortaleza.
In 1995, Nunes became Operations Director and played an active role in the project to prepare for the privatisation of Companhia Energética do Ceará (Coelce). He became Institutional Projects Manager in November 1999 and worked on the optimisation of the Special Investments Programme in the state of Ceará.