Steven Beck is the Director of the Trade and Supply Chain Division at the Asian Development Bank (ADB), where he has built and scaled ADB’s trade and supply chain finance businesses from start-ups into programs that support thousands of transactions worth billions of dollars every year. Under his leadership, ADB’s trade and supply chain initiatives have become a critical tool for promoting cross-border trade, strengthening the resilience of supply chains, and expanding access to finance for companies across emerging markets in Asia.
With more than 25 years of experience in international trade and finance, Steven Beck has launched multiple initiatives to make trade and supply chains greener, more inclusive, transparent, socially responsible, and resilient. He has overseen the creation of ADB’s first supply chain finance business, helped to quantify global trade finance gaps and their impact on growth and jobs, and championed innovative solutions that support small and medium-sized enterprises.
At the global level, Steven Beck plays an active role in shaping standards and rules for trade finance. He serves on advisory and governing bodies of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Working Group on Trade Finance, and sits on the governing board of the Digital Standards Initiative, which drives the digital transformation of cross-border trade.
Steven Beck has formally confirmed his participation in the International Textile Forum - Tajikistan 2026 as a featured speaker in the third panel session. His intervention will focus on how sustainable, transparent, and digitally enabled trade and supply chain solutions can support the development of Tajikistan’s textile sector and deepen its integration into regional and global value chains. Participants can expect practical insights on leveraging trade and supply chain finance, adopting green and social standards, and addressing key bottlenecks in cross-border trade in textiles and apparel.