Last Updated: February 23, 2023, 22:45 IST
Ajay Banga at an event in Manhattan, New York on July 31, 2018. (Reuters/Eduardo Munoz)
Born in Pune, Indian-American Ajay Banga is the former CEO of Mastercard. He was on Thursday nominated by US President Joe Biden to lead the World Bank.
Indian-American Ajay Banga, the former CEO of Mastercard, was on Thursday nominated by US President Joe Biden to lead the World Bank.
In a statement, Biden said the business leader is uniquely equipped to lead the global institution at “this critical moment in history”. “He has spent more than three decades building and managing successful, global companies that create jobs and bring investment to developing economies, and guiding organizations through periods of fundamental change,” said the US President.
The World Bank’s current president David Malpass resigned last week.
Here’s all you need to know about 63-year-old Ajay Banga:
- Ajay Banga, if confirmed by the World Bank Board of Directors, would be the first-ever Indian-American and Sikh-American to head either of the two top international financial institutions – the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
- He is currently the Vice Chairman at General Atlantic. Previously, he was President and CEO of Mastercard, leading the company through a strategic, technological and cultural transformation.
- He was awarded the Padma Shri by the Indian government in 2016.
- Born in Pune, Banga is an economics graduate from Delhi’s prestigious St Stephen’s University.
- He earned his MBA degree from IIM, Ahmedabad, one of India’s premier B-schools.
- Banga started his career with Nestle, India, where he worked for 13 years before moving to Pepsico. In 1996, Banga joined Citigroup and worked at its India and Malaysia offices. He served as the CEO of the company’s Asia-Pacific region.
- In 2009, Banga joined MasterCard as president and chief operating officer and was named the company’s CEO the following year.
- Last January, Banga took charge as the Vice Chairman of equity firm General Atlantic.
- Banga is a co-founder of The Cyber Readiness Institute, Vice Chair of the Economic Club of New York and served as a member of President Barack Obama’s Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity. He is a former member of the US President’s Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations.
- He is the honorary chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce, serving as chairman from 2020-2022.(With PTI inputs)
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