TAN SRI DATUK DR. REBECCA FATIMA STA MARIA was appointed as Independent Non-Executive Director of the DIALOG Board on 18 November 2022.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in English Literature from University of Malaya. She also holds a Diploma in Public Administration from National Institute of Public Administration (“INTAN”), M.S. in Counselling from Universiti Pertanian Malaysia (now known as Universiti Putra Malaysia) and a Ph.D from University of Georgia, Athens.
She began her career in the Malaysian Administrative and Diplomatic Service in 1981 and served in various capacities in the then Ministry of Trade and Industry. She was the Secretary-General of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry ("MITI Sec-Gen") from December 2010 to July 2016. As MITI Sec-Gen, she provided oversight for the formulation and implementation of Malaysia's international trade policies and positions. This involved Malaysia's participation in bilateral, regional (ASEAN, APEC, OIC) and multilateral fora (World Trade Organisation), as well as bilateral and regional trade negotiations. On the regional front, she played a key role in ASEAN economic integration and chaired the ASEAN Senior Economic Officials Meeting as well as the ASEAN High Level Task Force for Economic Integration. She was the Chair of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs ("IDEAS") and the EU-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry from 2017 to 2018. She also held the position as Executive Director of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Secretariat from 2019 to 2024.
She currently serves as the Pro-Chancellor of Sunway University and holds positions on the Board of Trustees of MyKasih Foundation and Yayasan Hartalega, Director of IDEAS, Sunway Berhad, Hartalega Holdings Berhad and Eco World International Berhad.
