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 the University of Malaya, a Diploma in Public Administration from INTAN, a Master of Science in Counselling from Universiti Pertanian Malaysia (now Universiti Putra Malaysia), and a Ph.D. from the University of Georgia, Athens, U.S.A.
Until 31 December 2024, she was the executive director of the APEC Secretariat based in Singapore. She is the Pro Chancellor of Sunway University, one of the premier private universities in Malaysia.
She began her career in the Malaysian Administrative and Diplomatic Service in 1981 and retired in 2016, having served as Secretary-General of the Malaysian Ministry of International Trade and Industry from December 2010 to July 2016.
In ASEAN, she chaired the body that drafted the 2015 and 2025 ASEAN Economic Community Blueprints.
Her scholarship has been recognised by the American Academy of Human Resource Development (Malcolm Knowles Award 2000 for the best dissertation of the year in the field of human resource development). 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 currently holds positions on the Board of Trustees of MyKasih Foundation and Yayasan Hartalega, Director of IDEAS, Sunway Berhad, Hartalega Holdings Berhad, EWI Capital Berhad and Loob Berhad.
