Sheam was appointed Assistant Director of Operations to the ITTO on 30th October 2017, bringing with her over 22 years of work experience from the forestry/timber industry/policy/international negotiations arena. ITTO’s goals are to promote the expansion and diversification of international trade in tropical timber from sustainably managed and legally harvested forests and to promote the sustainable management of tropical timber producing forests, amongst other related objectives.

Sheam was formerly the Europe Director for the Malaysian Timber Council, having utilized her expertise in international trade regulations with strong experience in legal and policy analysis relating to the timber and forest industries, advocacy, communications and public affairs. Sheam’s current principle tasks, amongst others, are to assist the Executive Director of the ITTO in garnering financial and policy support for the implementation of sustainable forest management in the tropics, address market access/customs regulations and international policies affecting market access for tropical forest products while identifying measures to implement and balance the sustainable production and consumption of these products compared to competing non-wood materials. Sheam holds a Masters degree in Corporate & Commercial Law from Kings College, University of London and is a Barrister-at-Law from Inner Temple, London.