Dr. Zeti Akhtar Aziz was appointed Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia in May 2000. At the central bank, Dr. Zeti had an important role in successfully managing the repair and resolution of the financial system during the Asian financial crisis and the consequent strong recovery of the Malaysian economy. In the decade that followed, she also had an important role in the reform and transformation of the Malaysian financial system, including overseeing the modernisation and enactment of ten major pieces of legislation for the financial sector. This period also saw the progressive liberalisation of the Malaysian financial system.

In the Asian region, Dr. Zeti has been actively involved in strengthening cooperation and financial integration. In 2006, she chaired the taskforce of the Executives’ Meeting of East Asia-Pacific Central Banks that prepared the report for the future direction of central bank financial cooperation in the region, which continues today. A founding member of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Asian Consultative Council, she was also the first co-chair of the Financial Stability Board Regional Consultative Group for Asia. Dr. Zeti also participates extensively in international fora in many parts of the world, including acting as the voice of emerging economies in highlighting their role in the global economy. Dr. Zeti was a member of the Commission of Experts of the President of the United Nations General Assembly on Reforms of the International Monetary and Financial System in 2009, a high-level taskforce established to examine reforms following the global financial crisis. She is currently the chair of the BIS Central Bank Governance Group, where she has been a member since 2001.

Dr. Zeti has also had an extensive role in the global development of Islamic finance, being part of the group of Governors that established the Islamic Financial Services Board and the International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation. She headed a taskforce that prepared a report identifying the building blocks that would further strengthen the institutional arrangements for financial stability in the Islamic financial system. Dr. Zeti also had a significant role in the development of talent in the Islamic financial services industry, including the establishment of the International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance, the first global university dedicated to Islamic finance.

For two decades, Dr. Zeti has been involved in the financial inclusion agenda at both the national and international levels, aimed at increasing the potential for more balanced economic growth.

Dr. Zeti received her Bachelor of Economics from the University of Malaya and her PhD in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania.