Shehu Yahaya Shantali, CEO of Central Securities Clearing System Plc, Nigeria, is a seasoned financial services executive and market infrastructure leader with over two decades of experience spanning capital market regulation, financial advisory, investment management, asset management, technology, and payment systems. He brings a rare, end-to-end understanding of the securities lifecycle—covering regulation, trading, clearing and settlement, custody, asset management, and digital financial platforms—positioning him as a trusted leader in post-trade and financial market infrastructure.
He began his career at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Nigeria, where he spent a decade in regulatory oversight, financial control, and investment management roles. During this period, he contributed to regulatory frameworks governing Exchanges and Trade Points, Financial Market Infrastructure, and Securities Services Solution Providers, while also overseeing the SEC’s institutional investment portfolio. He played key roles in market-wide reforms, including Nigeria’s transition to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and the implementation of the contributory pension scheme, demonstrating strong capability in regulatory coordination and system-wide change management.
Shehu has held several C-Suite roles in investment management and advisory, including as Chief Executive Officer of Apricot Investments Limited, an investment holding company. In this role, he oversaw the establishment and scaling of multiple market-facing subsidiaries, strengthening his engagement with asset managers, custodians, brokers, and other critical participants across the post-trade ecosystem. Within the payments ecosystem, he served as Executive Director at Teasy Mobile Payments Ltd, where he supported the development and operation of a secure payment gateway utilized by various market operators. He managed end-to-end transaction authorization, clearing, reconciliation, and settlement with high system availability, and played a leading role in pioneering contactless payments and agency banking in Nigeria.
He has also served as a consultant to the UK Nigeria Infrastructure Advisory Facility (UKNIAF), advising on complex public-private partnerships and financing structures for major national infrastructure projects.
Shehu holds an B.Sc. in Accounting, an Executive MBA and an Executive Diploma in Strategic Project Management. He is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (UK), an Associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, a Member of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (UK), and Member of Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP)US.