Ajay Banga | |
|---|---|
 Banga at theWhite House in 2023 | |
| President of the World Bank Group | |
| Assumed office June 2, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | David Malpass |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Ajaypal Singh Banga (1959-11-10)November 10, 1959 (age 66) Poona,Bombay State, India |
| Citizenship | Indian (1959–2007) American (2007–present) |
| Relatives | M. S. Banga (brother) |
| Education | St. Edward's School HPS Begumpet |
| Alma mater | St. Stephen's College, Delhi (BA) IIM Ahmedabad (MBA) |
| Awards | Padma Shri (2016) |
Ajaypal Singh "Ajay" Banga (born November 10, 1959[1]) is anIndian American business executive.[2][3] He is thepresident of theWorld Bank Group.[4] He was theexecutive chairman ofMastercard, after having previously been president andchief executive officer (CEO) of the company from July 2010 until December 31, 2020.[5][6] He retired from this position on December 31, 2021, and joinedGeneral Atlantic as its vice chairman.[7]
Before being nominated to the World Bank, he was the chairman ofExor, the Netherlands-based investment holding company controlled by the ItalianAgnelli Family,[8][9] and chairman of the public-privatePartnership for Central America withU.S. vice presidentKamala Harris.[10][11]
Banga is the former chairman of the U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC) representing more than 300 of the largest international companies investing in India, and chairman of theInternational Chamber of Commerce.[12]
Banga was elected President of the World Bank on May 3, 2023, having been nominated to the position in February 2023 by theJoe Biden administration.[13][14][15]
Ajay Banga was born on November 10, 1959, into aPunjabi SikhSaini[16] family, inKhadki,Bombay State (now inMaharashtra), where his father, an army officer, was posted.[17][18] His family is originally fromJalandhar, Punjab. His father, Harbhajan Singh Banga, is a retiredlieutenant-general who served in theIndian Army.[19] He is the younger brother of businessmanM. S. Banga.[20]
Banga was educated at theSt. Edward's School,[21] in the Milsington Estate ofShimla, Himachal Pradesh, and at theHyderabad Public School inBegumpet. He went on to graduate with a bachelor's degree in economics from theSt. Stephen's College of theUniversity of Delhi, subsequently earning hisPost graduate program (PGP) in management (equivalent to anMBA) from theIndian Institute of Management Ahmedabad inGujarat.[6][22][23]
Banga became a naturalizedU.S. citizen in 2007.[24]
Beginning his business career as a management trainee withNestlé in 1981,[25] Banga spent the next 13 years working in jobs spanning sales, marketing, and general management. He later joinedPepsiCo and was involved in the launch of its international fast food franchises, includingPizza Hut andKFC,[19] in India as the economyliberalized.[26]
In 1996, Banga joinedCitigroup, where he briefly worked as a debt collector as part of his training.[25] He headed up CitiFinancial and the US Consumer Assets Division from 2000 to 2002[27] From 2005 to 2008 he was chief executive of Citi's International Global Consumer Group, which included all credit card and consumer banking operations outside of North America.[27] During that time, he spearheaded Citi's strategy in the microfinance sector across the world.[6]
In 2008, Banga became chief executive of the bank's Asia-Pacific business, and splitting time between New York and Hong Kong.[28] In this capacity, he led a major reorganization of Citigroup's Asian operations in 2008 that gave regional heads increased authority across the bank's product lines.[29] Banga received about $10 million in compensation in 2008 from Citigroup, making him one of the firm's highest paid executives that year.[29]
Mastercard announced in April 2010 that Banga, previously itschief operating officer (COO), would become president andchief executive officer, effective July 1, 2010, and a member of theboard of directors.[22] Banga succeededRobert W. Selander, who had been CEO since March 1997.[6] In his first year, he received $13.5 million in compensation.[25]
During his tenure, Banga tripled revenues, increased net income sixfold and grew market capitalization from under $30 billion to more than $360 billion.[19] In 2020, he announced the creation of the Priceless Planet Coalition,[30] a group of about 100 firms that make corporate investments to preserve the environment and launched Mastercard's pledge to plant 100 million trees.[19]
In 2020, Banga was elected chairman of theInternational Chamber of Commerce (ICC), succeedingPaul Polman. He previously had been ICC's First Vice-Chair since June 2018.[31]
On January 1, 2022, Banga assumed responsibilities at General Atlantic as vice chairman.[7]
On May 24, 2022, he was nominated non-executive chairman ofExor, the diversified holding company controlled by theAgnelli family, replacingJohn Elkann (who remained as CEO).[8] Banga stepped down in May 2023, following his appointment to the World Bank.[9]
In February 2015, PresidentBarack Obama appointed Banga as a member of the President's Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations.[32]
Following the2020 elections, Banga was an outside adviser to then Vice PresidentKamala Harris as chairman of thePartnership for Central America, where he led a group of business leaders who advised her on the administration's work in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.[33]
On February 23, 2023, Banga was nominated byPresident Biden to lead theWorld Bank. On May 3, 2023, the World Bank confirmed Banga as its fourteenth president,[13] and he started his term on June 2, 2023.[4]
Banga was the keynote speaker at theNYU Stern 2014 Graduate Convocation on May 22, 2014, where he spoke about the importance of diversity in driving innovation and leadership.[44] He also was a keynote speaker for his alma mater, theIndian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, during the Class of 2015's convocation.[45][46] Banga is a regular speaker at variousFinTech conferences and various leadership conferences. He also appeared on theMad Money show hosted byJim Cramer on Thursday, November 6, 2014[47]
In 2023, Banga was named byCarnegie Corporation of New York as an honoree of theGreat Immigrants Awards.[48]
TheGovernment of India awarded Banga the civilian honor of thePadma Shri in 2016.[49]
In 2023, Banga was included in the "Time100 Climate" person list by Time Magazine[50]
On April 10, 2024, Banga was among the guests invited to thestate dinner hosted byU.S. PresidentJoe Biden in honor ofPrime MinisterFumio Kishida at theWhite House.[51]
In 2024, Banga was included in the Times 100 Most Influential People by the Time Magazine.[52]
Ajay Banga, the President of theWorld Bank, participated in the2023 G20 New Delhi summit. During the summit, he emphasized the need for a broader focus on issues such as food insecurity andgender equality, alongside the World Bank's traditional focus on poverty eradication.[53] He praised theNew Delhi Declaration, stating that it was a "job well done by India" and expressed satisfaction with the sections of the declaration that discussed the reform of multilateral banks.[53] Banga also spoke about the changing global challenges, including pandemics and climate change, and how they have impacted the World Bank's mission.[54]
Banga has two daughters and three grandchildren. His eldest daughter, Aditi, holds aBA fromHarvard University, aMBA fromStanford Graduate School of Business, and works as an executive atInstagram. His younger daughter, Jyotika, holds a BA and MBA from Harvard University and is a vice president atClear Secure. Hissons-in-law areIrish Catholic andJewish.[55][56] He wrote the bookA Leader Listens, which was published byPenguin.[46]
3 мая 2023 года президентом Всемирного банка (ВБ) избран американский бизнесмен индийского происхождения Аджай Банга. Он приступит к исполнению обязанностей 2 июня.[On May 3, 2023, Indian-American businessman Ajay Banga was elected President of the World Bank (WB). He will assume his duties on June 2.]
| Diplomatic posts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | President of the World Bank Group 2023–present | Incumbent |
