Board Of Directors
Tan Sri Datuk Dr Rebecca Fatima Sta. Maria
Non-Independent Non-Executive Director
BIOGRAPHY
Tan Sri Datuk Dr Rebecca Fatima Sta. Maria was appointed to the Board as Independent Non-Executive Director on 23 August 2016, re-designated as the Senior Independent Non-Executive Director on 15 May 2018 and been re-designated to Non-independent Non-Executive Director with effect from 8 July 2025. She sits on the Remuneration Committee and Risk Management & Sustainability Committee.
Tan Sri Datuk Dr. Rebecca Fatima Sta. Maria served as Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat in Singapore from 2019 to 2024, which serves as advisory body, implementation arm and custodian of institutional memory for the 21 member economies that make up the APEC forum.
Prior to joining the APEC Secretariat, Tan Sri Datuk Dr. Rebecca was the Secretary-General of the Malaysian Ministry of International Trade and Investment from 2010 to 2016, where she oversaw the formulation of Malaysia’s international trade policies and positions and often took the lead in their implementation as chief negotiator for bilateral and regional free trade agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. She played an integral role in Malaysia’s participation in multilateral forums such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), where she often represented Malaysia in APEC Ministerial Meetings. In the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), she chaired the body that drafted the ASEAN Economic Community 2015 Blueprint as well as the ASEAN Economic Community 2025 Blueprint.
An accomplished academic and writer, her scholarship has been recognised through awards from the American Academy of Human Resource Development and from the University of Georgia. In 2017, she authored a book about her personal slice of Malaysian heritage and cuisine, called The Smell of Home. In 2024, she was featured in Forbes’ third annual 50 Over 50: Asia List, which showcases 50 inspirational women over the age of 50 from across the Asia-Pacific region.
She also currently serves as Non-Executive Director of Sunway Berhad, Eco World International Berhad and Dialog Group Berhad.
