She also chairs the Expert Leaders Group at the Graça Machel Trust, a peer convening of serving and former female central bank governors, deputy governors, finance ministers, and senior leaders in economic and financial governance across Africa.

As former Deputy Governor for Financial System Stability at the Central Bank of Nigeria, Ahmad served during a period of significant transformation in Africa’s largest financial system. She also chaired NIBSS, Nigeria’s central payments infrastructure, where she oversaw a period of substantial growth in electronic payments and digital adoption. She led the launch of AfriGo, Africa’s first domestic sovereign card scheme, and oversaw the corporate structures that positioned it beyond NIBSS. She also played a leading role, alongside the National Assembly, in the passage of BOFIA 2020, which modernised Nigeria’s banking law.

Ahmad was a leading institutional champion of financial inclusion in Nigeria, serving as Chair of the Financial Inclusion Technical Committee and coordinating engagement across sector regulators and key stakeholders. In that role, she conceived the International Financial Inclusion Conference, creating a platform for policy dialogue and international engagement on inclusive finance. She also sponsored the development of the Women’s Financial Inclusion Dashboard, helping establish Nigeria’s first policy-led framework for tracking women’s access to finance.

Before entering public service, Ahmad spent nearly two decades in senior leadership roles across Stanbic IBTC, Diamond Bank, and Zenith Bank, building deep experience across banking, private wealth management, markets, and institutional leadership.

Her broader leadership includes board and trustee roles with institutions such as the Financial Alliance for Women, SOS Children’s Villages International, and Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ), reflecting a longstanding commitment to inclusive leadership, women’s advancement, and social impact.

Her work sits at the intersection of policy, finance, institutional reform, and leadership. Across both public and private sectors, she has built a reputation for judgment, credibility, and the ability to convene serious actors around consequential questions.

She was awarded Nigeria’s national honour of Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) for her contributions to financial sector reform. Ahmad also holds the traditional title of Soniya Asusu Nupe — Treasurer of the Nupe People — a stewardship role rooted in the governance of economic prosperity and community trust.