Rebecca Sta Maria is Executive Director of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Secretariat based in Singapore where she advises and provides support for APEC’s 21 diverse member economies. Sta Maria spent years as a top-level civil servant and trade negotiator in Malaysia. As secretary-general of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry she oversaw the formulation of Malaysia’s positions in major agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership. As representative to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Dr Sta Maria chaired the body that drafted ASEAN’s economic community blueprints for 2015 and 2025.