How Aisha Ahmad Conquered Corporate Banking before Moving to the CBN

On 23rd March, 2018, Aisha Ndanusa Ahmad was appointed a Deputy Governor at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Her portfolio specifically entails being in charge of the Financial System Stability Directorate of the apex bank. Ahmad replaced Sarah Alade, another accomplished Economist who occupied the position until her retirement in March 2017.

Since her appointment, Aisha has been coordinating the Central Bank’s plans to promote a sound financial system in Nigeria. This all-important job of hers has seen Mrs Ahmad practically rewrite history books’ perspectives and expectations of Northern Nigerian women and their place in the society. 

Prior to her appointment as CBN’s Deputy Governor, Aisha Ahmad was an Executive Director (Retail Banking) at the now defunct Diamond Bank Plc where she worked for several years, thereby carving a niche as a corporate executive and finance expert. She also worked in most of the other top banks in the country.

This financial luminary was born on 26 October 1977 in Sokoto to Alhaji Umaru Ndanusa, former Chairman of Peugeot Nigeria Limited. She had her primary education at her hometown in Bida, Niger State and also completed her secondary education at Federal Government Girls College, Bida, in 1992. She then bagged her first degree in Accounting from the University of Abuja before obtaining a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the University of Lagos.

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Aisha Ahmad commenced her private sector career as a Group Accountant at Manstructs Group Nigeria Limited, and later moved to Z.O. Ososanya & Company. Next, she worked at the First Interstate Bank (Nigeria) Plc as an Executive Assistant. She also worked at Treasury Group, and all these experiences prepared the path fir her entry into the banking industry. 

Her next stop was Zenith Bank Plc where she worked as head of Retail Banking, and from there moved to become Head of Private Banking at NAL Bank Plc, now known as Sterling Bank (Nigeria). She has also served as the head of business development at Zenith Capital Limited, and as Head, High Net Worth Individuals at Stanbic IBTC Holdings. 

Her banking career has also cut across the Bank of New York Mellon in the United Kingdom to Synesix Financial Limited, also in the United Kingdom, an indication of a passion for the financial industry. 

Aisha additionally went on to get a Master of Science degree in Finance and Management, from the Cranfield School of Management in the United Kingdom. She is a member of the Chartered Financial Analysts (CFA) Association and Chartered Alternative Investment Analysts (CAIA) Association. 

EDITOR’S NOTE: You may read the rest of the profile on page 11 of our 50 Most Influential Women in Business edition. Download it by following this link.