Dr. Zeti served as Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia from May 2000 until April 2016. In her career at the central bank, she 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 economy in Malaysia. In the decade that followed, she also had an important role in the financial reform and transformation of the Malaysian financial system including overseeing the enactment of ten new 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 was actively involved in strengthening cooperation and regional financial integration. In 2006, she chaired the regional task force that prepared the report for the future direction of central bank financial cooperation in the East Asian region. An important voice for the emerging world she was a founding member of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Asian Consultative Council, and was also the first co-chair of the Financial Stability Board Regional Consultative Group for Asia. She was the Chair of the BIS Central Bank Governance Group. Dr. Zeti also had an extensive role in the global development of Islamic finance.  She was also active in the global financial inclusion agenda. She is currently the Co-chair Board of Governors of Asia School of Business, established in collaboration with MIT Sloan.

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