Born in Malaysia but resident in the United Kingdom from the mid-1970s, Raj Brown was educated at the University of Malaya and then at London's School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). She subsequently held research positions at SOAS and at the London School of Economics (LSE). She also taught at SOAS and the LSE before moving to Royal Holloway College in the mid-1990s, rising in time to Professor in International Business. She has undertaken research fieldwork across many parts of Asia and the Middle East.