Her emergence is more than a leadership change it is a defining milestone that signals the rising influence of women at the highest levels of Nigeria’s financial services industry and underscores the evolving face of capital market leadership.

With close to two decades of distinguished experience spanning stockbroking, investment banking, private equity, real estate, wealth management and business development, Fiona brings deep market insight, global exposure and a proven track record of delivering growth and market impact.

She began her career at one of Nigeria’s prominent Stockbroking firms, where she built a solid foundation in capital market operations and foreign investor deal flows.

She later joined FBN Capital (now FirstCap) as Head of Sales Trading, playing a pivotal role in managing both international and domestic institutional deal flows. In 2015, she was appointed Managing Director of African Alliance Securities Nigeria, where she drove significant expansion in market share, client base, and cross-border transactions.

Since joining First Securities Brokers Limited in 2016, she has led a remarkable transformational growth, positioning the firm among Nigeria’s top-tier brokerage houses by 2018 through enhanced execution capabilities and increased global investor participation.

Beyond executive management, Fiona has held several board and board committee roles and currently serves on the boards of First Funds (the private equity arm of FirstHoldCo Group), NGX Real Estate Limited (a subsidiary of NGX Group), Japtini Logistics, and Awabaah (a micro- pensions business). She is also a member of the Statutory Audit Committee of the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS).

An advocate of continuous learning and thought leadership, Fiona has received executive education from MIT Sloan School of Management (USA), IESE Business School (Spain), and INSEAD (France). She is a Doctorate candidate at Afe Babalola University Business School.

Her professional affiliations include being a Chartered Stockbroker, Chartered Accountant, and Chartered Director, she is also an Honorary Member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, she also serves on the Curriculum Review Committee of Lagos Business School and has been a mentor on the WIMBIZ Women on Boards Programme for four consecutive years.

Beyond corporate leadership, Fiona is deeply committed to philanthropy, supporting multiple institutions and sponsoring the education of young people reflecting her passion for inclusive growth and generational impact.

Her leadership philosophy is guided by enduring principles, excellence in execution, a refusal to settle for mediocrity, and an unwavering commitment to integrity and fairness.

Fiona’s presidency comes at a pivotal time for Nigeria’s capital market, as it navigates increased global integration, regulatory evolution, and rapid digital innovation.

As President, she is poised to advance strategic priorities including deepening the market, strengthening professional standards, enhancing investor confidence, and nurturing the next generation of capital market professionals.

Fiona will assume office on April 30, 2026, with her formal investiture scheduled for June 25, 2026, where key stakeholders across Nigeria’s financial ecosystem are expected to gather to mark this historic leadership transition.

Revealed in a statement on Monday, the *7270# USSD code, set to go live by May 8th, 2025, is designed to enhance the accessibility of investment services for investors across the country.

The service leverages MTN Nigeria’s network infrastructure to provide nationwide access, promoting financial inclusion by reaching users even in areas with limited internet connectivity.

With no need for internet access, the USSD service allows Nigerians to access a range of investment-related functions, including retrieving their Clearing House Numbers, checking Direct Cash Settlement status, viewing stock positions, and confirming account balances and statuses.

The service will initially be available to MTN users only, with plans to expand to other mobile networks in the near future.

Commenting on the partnership with MTN, Haruna Jalo-Waziri, managing director/chief executive officer of CSCS stated:

“We are excited to launch the *7270# USSD code service, a significant step in leveraging mobile technology to democratize access to account and portfolio information.

“This service empowers every investor, regardless of their location or resources, to stay informed about their investments. At CSCS, we believe that financial inclusivity is key to driving economic growth.”

Aisha Mumuni, chief digital officer of MTN Nigeria, emphasized the importance of the service as it simplifies the access process for the network provider users, giving them access to the capital market and enhancing investor engagement.

The initiative is in line with CSCS’s commitment to revolutionize information access within the Nigerian Capital market, making it easier for Nigerians to stay informed about their financial assets.

The announcement was made on Friday, March 14, 2025.

The suspension by SEC follows Centurion Registrars’ failure to comply with regulatory directives and unresolved complaints against the firm.

As a result, SEC has advised all clients of the company to contact Africa Prudential Plc for guidance on transferring their portfolios to another registrar of their choice.

In addition, SEC has instructed all capital market trade associations—including the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX), the Institute of Capital Market Registrars (ICMR), the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), and the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS)—to cease all dealings with Centurion Registrars and its principal officers.

Centurion Registrars, a share registration firm, provides services such as public fund-raising facilitation, investor representation, and dividend disbursement.

According to SEC, the suspension is in accordance with its authority under Section 38(4) and (5) of the Investments and Securities Act, 2007, and Rule 34(1)(e) of the SEC Consolidated Rules and Regulations, 2013.

By leveraging Nutanix’s solutions, CSCS has transformed its extensive operational infrastructure, realising significant financial savings and solidifying its position as a technological frontrunner in the capital markets.

The Central Securities Clearing System PLC (CSCS) stands tall as Nigeria’s premier financial markets infrastructure (FMI).

As Nigeria’s Central Securities Depository (CSD), CSCS is entrusted with depositing, clearing, and settling a staggering 99.3% of all trades in the capital markets.

As CSCS continues to push the boundaries of technological innovation in the financial sector, this collaboration with Nutanix exemplifies the transformative potential of forward-thinking technology choices that are helping it develop and deploy innovative solutions for its clients.

“We view ourselves not just as a financial entity but fundamentally as a technology company within the capital market,” says Tobe Nnadozie, Divisional Head of Business Technology & Digital Innovation at CSCS.

CSCS’s journey towards modernising its infrastructure began in 2018. By 2019, they were set on a mission: to find a partner capable of pioneering self-service platforms, supporting cutting-edge technologies like AI and blockchain, and, most importantly, ensuring robust business continuity and disaster recovery.

“After a thorough analysis, Nutanix stood out as the undisputed leader,” reveals Nnadozie. Yet, the road ahead was daunting. With over 70 physical servers to consolidate and immense data security needs, the task was Herculean. Nutanix was pivotal, helping us reduce our infrastructure to around 50 servers. They’ve been central in hosting our most crucial components, ensuring that 90% of our systems are now smoothly running on their clusters,” states Nnadozie.

The collaboration also ensured unparalleled flexibility, with the capability to seamlessly switch between on-premises and cloud operations.

According to Nnadozie, Nutanix has provided CSCS with a robust support system it can tap into at any time, and the value of Nutanix Flow and the premium support services accessed through its Nutanix Ultimate License has been exceptionally valuable to the team.

“Integrating Nutanix resulted in immediate financial clarity, with savings of approximately $450,000,” Nnadozie remarks.

“The benefits extended to budget transparency, rapid scalability, and more. We also saw a benefit to our workforce. Our team can now manage this state-of-the-art environment through extensive training without expanding our personnel, and they can do this from anywhere,” adds Nnadozie.

The project to upgrade its technology was more than just a project for CSCS, which strives to stay ahead of the financial services innovation curve and provide its customers with world-class services.

The team believes that its agility, backed by its technology decisions, has revolutionised how it operates in the capital markets.

“Our CEO often refers to our operations, powered by Nutanix, as the engine room of Nigeria’s broader capital market,” he adds.

Looking ahead, the team says it plans to expand its infrastructure with Nutanix and is setting its sights on a prolonged partnership stretching over the next five to seven years.

This will include examining how the two can further collaborate to enhance their hybrid multicloud capabilities.

“From the outset, we recognised the innovative and forward-thinking ethos of the CSCS team,” says Tunde Abagun, Sales Lead at Nutanix West, East, and Central Africa. “Their proactive approach to revolutionising Nigeria’s financial infrastructure has truly set them apart in the capital market space. At Nutanix, we pride ourselves on facilitating such transformational journeys and seeing CSCS leverage our technology with such proficiency and impact has been nothing short of astounding. We’re both proud and humbled to play a role in their ongoing success story.”