Ying Staton is leading Plastic Energy’s corporate development in Asia, focusing on strategy, business development and finance, from the company’s Asian base in Singapore. She started her career in the British government, where she led research in 10 Downing St under Prime Minister David Cameron and served a number of roles in the UK Department for Transport and Department for International Development, including a year working with the UN on the predecessor to the SDGs and 2 years delivering UK aid programmes in Uganda. After leaving government, she was Head of Asia at strategic advisory firm Global Counsel for 6 years, where she advised multinational companies on cross-border trade and investment issues across Europe, Asia and Africa, with a focus on commodities and sustainability. Ying graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Classics and English from Oxford University and holds an M.A. in East Asian Studies from Yale University, where she was a Henry Fellow.