Murni Ali is the Senior Country Representative for Malaysia at the U.S. Trade and Development Agency. In this role, she is responsible for business development and supervision of USTDA activities in Malaysia with Energy, ICT, Healthcare, and Transportation as the focused sectors.

Before joining USTDA, Murni was a Program Manager for the National Graphene Action Plan at NanoMalaysia where she was responsible for the planning, managing and reporting of program activities. Murni brings more than 15 years’ experience in business development in key economic sectors—many of them aligning with USTDA’s priorities—as well as industrial nanotechnology ecosystem development.

Murni has a Master’s of Business Administration from the University of East London, U.K. and a Bachelor’s in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Putra Malaysia.

Siobhan Das is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the American Malaysian Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) in Malaysia. She has been with the organization since 2016 and has over 15 years of experience in the fields of global trade, public policy, government relations, and public affairs. Siobhan oversees the development and implementation of programs and initiatives that support the interests of American businesses in Malaysia, and works closely with government officials and other stakeholders to advance the organization's mission. She is responsible for leading the organization's efforts to promote trade and investment between the United States and Malaysia and support member engagement locally.

Fred Helfrich is assigned to the Commercial Service Kuala Lumpur office where he serves as the Deputy Senior Commercial Officer for Malaysia. Since becoming a Foreign Service Officer, Fred was assigned to Shanghai, China and most recently served a year at the SelectUSA office in Commerce Headquarters. He is a 2018 War College graduate, receiving an MS in National Security from the Eisenhower School at National Defense University. Immediately before attending NDU, he was Deputy Director of the Advocacy Center at the U.S. Department of Commerce. While assigned to the Advocacy Center, Fred served a five-month temporary assignment as Chief of Staff to the Vice Chair of the Export-Import Bank of the United States.

Prior to his civil service, he served in the private sector as a financial analyst for a large online retailer. He also worked as a strategy consultant and investment analyst for management and aviation consultancies in Tanzania, Germany, and the United States, including KPMG and PWC. Earlier, he served as an Infantry, Cavalry, and Logistics officer in the United States Army. He attained the rank of Major in the Army Reserves following his active-duty service.

Danica R. Starks is the Senior U.S. Commercial Liaison and Advisor to the U.S. Executive Director at the World Bank and Head of the Commerce Department’s Multilateral Development Bank Group. Physically embedded at the World Bank in Washington, DC, Danica represents the interests of the U.S. Department of Commerce to the World Bank Group and serves as a liaison between the Bank and U.S. business community. In this role, Danica also oversees the Department of Commerce’s Liaison Offices at the other multilateral banks, including the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (London, UK), Asian Development Bank (Manila, Philippines), African Development Bank (Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire) and Inter-American Development Bank (Washington, DC). Danica has over twenty years of experience in international economic policy, commercial diplomacy, trade, and national security, with a specialization in Europe and Eurasia. Most recently Danica served as the Director of the Policy Team at the U.S. Department of Commerce in the Office of Russia, Ukraine & Eurasia. She has also previously done assignments as a Senior Advisor at the U.S. Helsinki Commission and to the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Global Markets.

Danica is a Presidential Management Fellow alumna and holds a Master’s of Science at the
Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy, one of two Joint U. S.
Military War Colleges, at the National Defense University, where she pursued a concentration in
European Studies and was named top student in the Space Industry Study. Danica also holds an
M.A. in International Affairs with concentrations in Development and Transition Economics and
Russian, Eurasian and Eastern European Studies from the Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze
School of Advanced International Studies and a B.A. in International Studies and Economics with
a minor in Russian and Eastern European Affairs from The American University. Danica speaks
Russian and Spanish and has studied Czech, Italian, Serbo-Croatian and Norwegian.
Danica is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. (and currently heads the Refugee
Assistance in America Program for her local chapter) as well as Chief. She has a passion for
mentoring which she does through several organizations, including her own Monthly Mentoring
Mondays program, is the Prince George’s County Lead for Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense
in America, the Co-Founder of the ITA Ambassadors Program, a diversity recruitment initiative
and serves on the board of E.M.I.C.- Engaging Minorities in International Cultures.

Hanes Roberts currently serves as Senior Commercial Officer and U.S. Commerce Department Representative to the Asian Development Bank, Manila, Philippines. Hanes preceding foreign service tour was at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, China, where his portfolio included manufacturing, financial services, e-commerce, safety & security. He was the Country Advisor for Select USA.

Before joining the U.S. Foreign Commercial Service, Hanes was a Partner and New Venture Consultant at Mandolin Partners, which includes a contemporary fine dining restaurant, organic farm, and gourmet food distribution business based in his hometown of Raleigh, NC. In addition, Hanes worked with the Management Consulting firm ScottMadden as an Associate beginning in 2012. Projects included financial due diligence, manpower harmonization, and staffing realignment, primarily focused on the energy sector. Prior to ScottMadden, Hanes managed a Philippine-based consultancy, Cogitat Technologies, serving as an advisor for technology development and investments in the clean energy sector that targeted the Philippine telecommunications and energy industries. Hanes co-founded a solar startup, Sungrid LTD, in Perth, Australia, and analyzed market viability for Akeena / Westinghouse Solar in Los Gatos, California. His early career includes marketing with Coca-Cola’s Olympic Sports Marketing Division (U.S., Australia, Greece) and volunteering with the U.S. Peace Corps in the Philippines.

Hanes graduated cum laude from Vanderbilt University with a B.S. degree in Human and Organizational Development, Leadership Track. He also holds a Master of Public Administration from Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, a Master of Management in Hospitality degree from Cornell University, an MBA in International Management from the Thunderbird School of Global Management, an Advanced Post Graduate Degree in Energy Studies from Murdoch University in Perth, Australia, and a Project Management Professional Certification.

As part of ADB's Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department, Stephane Bessadi leads on innovative water and wastewater practices and energy efficient technologies from the water service industry, working with ADB regional departments on projects including but not limited to Georgia, India, Nepal, and the People's Republic of China. He also supervises the Water Operators Partnerships (WOPs) Program and develops corporatization roadmaps.

Before joining ADB in 2017, Stephane spent 15 years working for private water companies, primarily Suez Environnement. A French national, Stephane obtained a BA in Economics from McGill University in Montreal, a Master as Engineer Economist at the University of Aix-Marseille II, and a Master in Water Management at the National School for Rural Engineering and Forestry in Montpellier.