In November, our NIU Executive MBA (EMBA) Huskies gathered to hear from Mouneer Ahmad, the keynote speaker at our Executive in Residence event in Naperville.
Ahmad, who earned his B.S. in finance from the NIU College of Business in 1996, now serves as the deputy associate director of the Federal Reserve Board, where he is dedicated to managing and upholding the integrity of U.S. currency, as well as providing education and communication about the currency. In this role, he works with global and domestic banks as well as currency traders.
“Our [U.S.] currency is in almost 200 countries in the world,” Ahmad said in his talk. “In many countries, it’s the one that the local population uses to basically protect their life savings. And so how do we make sure of that? It’s a tremendous responsibility for my team.”
Ahmad also works as the CEO of the Duallie Luggage Corporation, where he leads a global team that is focused on innovating in travel goods with patented ergonomic designs that enhance the travel experience.
In recognition of his distinguished career, he was awarded the NIU Alumni Association’s 2025 Distinguished Alumnus Award this fall.
Throughout the evening, Ahmad addressed a series of thoughtful questions from participants, touching on subjects such as economic indicators, policy independence and the complexities of operating with imperfect or inconsistent data. Throughout the discussion, he shared his personal perspectives that emphasized the importance of independent decision-making within financial institutions that have been a hallmark of the U.S. financial system. He also offered candid reflections on global markets, data reliability and the role of transparency in financial markets.
More than anything, however, Ahmad emphasized the importance of people, networking and getting to know those working around you.
“Let people have a chance to know you and who you are, but your work needs to be the speaker itself,” he said.
He went on to discuss how letting people in and showing his true self helped him build relationships in his career.
“People getting to know what you stand for, what’s important to you, your character, your personality, even a little bit about being personal — it all builds connections where people will be able to get a chance to work with you. And when you build those relationships, when challenges happen, they don’t become conflicts.”
Ahmad added that people who respect each other can usually work together to get an outcome, even with they disagree or appear to argue at first. Often, that respect comes down to trust.
When discussing his approach to leading high performing teams, he said, “I’m not there to beat them up. I’m there to empower them. When they’re successful, I’m successful. If they fail, I fail, and it’s as simple as that when it comes to my leadership style.”
“The biggest thing is I trust people. My job is to empower my team to be successful.
During the presentation, Ahmad emphasized leading with personal values and keeping integrity and ethics at the forefront of all decision-making — all of which are taught in NIU’s Executive MBA program.
Learn more about NIU’s Executive MBA program and NIU’s EMBA Executive in Residence series.
