Steve Beel is Chief Executive at Freeport East, one of twelve Freeports across the UK established by the UK Government. Freeport East aspires to be the UK’s leading centre for global trade, green energy, innovation and application of digital technology, which in its first two years of operation has attracted over £250m of new investment and created 2000 jobs. Steve has over 20 years’ experience across energy & infrastructure, international diplomacy, economic development & trade. Prior to his appointment at Freeport East, Steve was a British diplomat and head of the UK’s development partnership with Zambia. Earlier in his career he worked at Ofgem as a Commercial Director where he was involved in many of the UK’s largest offshore wind and electricity interconnector projects, and before that at Hutchison Whampoa and PwC.