Mr. Salehuddin Ahmed completed his SSC from Dhaka Collegiate School in 1963 and HSC from Dhaka College in 1965, both in science. Focused on economics, he earned a BA (Honours) in 1968 from University of Dhaka and MA in Economics in 1969 from the same institution.His academic pursuits extended to McMaster University in Canada, where he attained an MA in Economics in 1974, and ultimately, a Ph.D. in Macroeconomics in 1978.

Dr. Ahmed started his career as a lecturer in Economics at the University of Dhaka in 1970. Subsequently, he joined the erstwhile Civil Service of Pakistan (CSP). He was appointed as the Assistant Commissioner for Office of the Deputy Commissioner, Dhaka in 1978-79 and as the Sub-Divisional Officer in Pirojpur in 1979-80. He worked at the National Foundation for Research on Human Resource Development, which later merged with the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies. From 1993 to 1995, he was the Director General of the Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development (BARD). He served as the Research Director at the Center for Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP) from 1995 to 1996. Additionally, he served as the Director General of the NGO Affairs Bureau under the Prime Minister’s Office. During 1996-2005 Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed was the Managing Director of Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation (PKSF), the apex funding agency of micro credit operations in Bangladesh.

Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed served as the Governor of Bangladesh Bank. He assumed the role on May 1, 2005, and held the position until April 30, 2009.

After retiring from his role as Governor, he has been teaching at various universities since 2009. He was a professor in the Department of Business Administration at North South University from 2010 to 2014. In 2014, he joined BRAC University as a professor in the Department of Business Administration. He is also a trustee of Gono University. He has published over 100 articles and books on economics, development, and his professional career, which have been published both locally and internationally.

On August 8, 2024, he was appointed as an adviser to the current interim government. On August 9, he assumed responsibilities as an adviser to both the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Planning. He served as an adviser to the Ministry of Planning until August 16, 2024, and as of August 16, he is serving as an adviser to both the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Commerce.