Sharmila Suntherasegarun is an Assistant Manager for Research at IDEAS, focusing on international trade, industrial policy and economic competitiveness. She brings experience from the public sector in FDI and investment-related policies, which shaped her interest in how industrial policy and institutional design influence productive capacity, economic upgrading and inclusive long-term growth. Her analyses have appeared on Bloomberg, Channel News Asia, BFM, Astro Awani and East Asia Forum. Sharmila holds a Master of Economics from the University of Malaya and an undergraduate degree with a double major in Economics and Econometrics & Business Statistics from Monash University Malaysia, as a JPA scholar.