Last updated: February 23, 2023, 10:41 PM IST
Ajay Banga at an event in Manhattan, New York on July 31, 2018. (Reuters/Eduardo Munoz)
Indian-American Ajay Banga, born in Pune, is the former CEO of Mastercard. He was nominated by US President Joe Biden on Thursday to head the World Bank.
Indian-American Ajay Banga, the former CEO of Mastercard, was nominated by US President Joe Biden on Thursday to head the World Bank.
In a statement, Biden said the company executive is uniquely equipped to lead the global institution at “this critical time in history.” “He has spent more than three decades building and managing successful global companies that create jobs and bring investment to emerging economies and navigate organizations through periods of fundamental change,” said the US president.
The current president of the World Bank, David Malpass, resigned last week.
Here’s everything you need to know about 63-year-old Ajay Banga:
- Ajay Banga, if confirmed by the World Bank Board of Governors, would become the first ever Indian-American and Sikh-American to head one of the two largest international financial institutions – the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
- He is currently Vice Chairman of General Atlantic. Previously, he served as President and CEO of Mastercard, leading the company through a strategic, technological and cultural transformation.
- In 2016, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India.
- Born in Pune, Banga is a graduate of Economics from the prestigious St. Stephen’s University in Delhi.
- He received his MBA degree from IIM, Ahmedabad, one of India’s premier B schools.
- Banga started his career at Nestle, India where he worked for 13 years before moving to Pepsico. In 1996, Banga joined Citigroup and worked in the India and Malaysia offices. He served as CEO of the company’s Asia Pacific region.
- In 2009, Banga joined MasterCard as president and chief operating officer and was named CEO of the company the following year.
- Last January, Banga took the lead as vice chairman of equity firm General Atlantic.
- Banga is a co-founder of The Cyber Readiness Institute, Vice President of the Economic Club of New York, and served on President Barack Obama’s Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity. He is a former member of the US President’s Advisory Committee on Trade Policy and Negotiations.
- He is the Honorary President of the International Chamber of Commerce and serves as President from 2020-2022.(with PTI inputs)
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