Professor Dr Shakila Yacob is a professor of business history and international business at the Department of History, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Malaya. She was formerly the executive director of the International Institute of Public Policy and Management (INPUMA), University of Malaya. During her tenure as executive director (2018–2021), Shakila introduced several policy initiatives, including the bi-annual publication of the Policy Casebook Series; Policy Talks, a platform promoting collaborative policymaking; and PolicyPALS, a program to create interest in public policy among university students and secondary school leavers. Prior to this appointment, she served as the director of the Centre for Civilisational Dialogue, University of Malaya (UMCCD) (2016–2018). She was awarded the FY2015/2016 Fulbright Malaysian Scholar Program scholarship and was based at the University of Maryland in the United States (US) from October 2015 until July 2016. She has also held visiting scholar positions at universities in the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US). Shakila has gained the benefits of a multidisciplinary education in three different academic systems. After receiving her Bachelor of Arts (majoring in Southeast Asian Studies) from the University of Malaya, she pursued a Master of Arts in Political Science at Western Michigan University, United States (US). She received her doctorate (PhD) in Management at the Henley Business School, University of Reading, United Kingdom (UK). As both a business historian and political scientist, Shakila’s research interests are in business history, international business, comparative politics, critical thinking, and public policy. She is well published in peer-reviewed journals and books both locally and internationally. In her groundbreaking book titled The United States and the Malaysian Economy (2008) (Routledge Studies in the Growth Economies of Asia), she examines US foreign direct investment (FDI) in colonial Malaya and post-colonial Malaysia. Her published works on the history of international business in Malaysia are now linked with her research on history, politics and public policy. One of her most cited works is a seminal study on “The ‘Unfinished Business’ of Malaysia's Decolonisation: The Origins of the Guthrie Dawn Raid' (Modern Asian Studies, 44.5, 2010), with co-author Nicholas J. White. Her secondary interests are in history, new media, politics, and public policy, including the application of critical thinking skills in teaching and learning history, politics, and public policy. Shakila’s publication list is accessible at https://publons.com/researcher/1293983/shakila-yacob/