She joined ASPI following an illustrious career of nearly three decades as a diplomat and negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), where she also served as Acting Deputy U.S. Trade Representative. During her USTR career, she worked on a range of bilateral, regional, and multilateral trade negotiations and initiatives, including the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, U.S.-China negotiations, and the WTO Financial Services negotiations. She has published a series of ASPI papers on the Asian trade landscape and serves as a regular media commentator on trade and investment developments in Asia and the world. 

Dr Wilson specialises in the regional economic integration of the Indo-Pacific. He has particular expertise in the politics of trade agreements, regional economic institutions, and Australia’s economic ties with Asia. He has been featured in local and international media outlets, contributed to a range of track two dialogues between Australia and key regional partners, and supported policy development through consultancy, publication and advisory work.

A political scientist by training, Dr Wilson’s research has been recognised as a recipient of the University of Sydney Medal (2006) and the Vice-Chancellor’s Excellence in Research Award (Murdoch, 2015). He was the inaugural winner of the Australian Institute of International Affairs’ Boyer Prize (2012) for his work on the politics of China-Australia mining investment. He holds a Bachelor of Economic and Social Sciences (Honours) from the University of Sydney, and a PhD in International Relations from the Australian National University.

During his tenure, Asialink Business reached over 100,000 executives across more than 25 locations in Australia and Asia. Over 90% of executives reported that Asialink Business’ offerings improved their capability to engage with Asia, positioning them to deliver better than forecast individual and organisational performance.

Mukund built his experience at KPMG advising on M&A transactions, joint ventures and strategic alliances between Australia and Asia in sectors including energy and resources, banking, agribusiness, education and information technology. He has also advised several federal and state government departments and agencies on economic engagement strategies for various Asian markets.