Ajaypal Singh "Ajay" Banga (born November 10, 1959
Before being nominated to the World Bank, he was the chairman of Exor, the Netherlands-based investment holding company controlled by the Italian Agnelli family,
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 the International Chamber of Commerce.
Banga was elected President of the World Bank on May 3, 2023, having been nominated to the position in February 2023 by the Joe Biden administration.
Early life and education
Ajay Banga was born on November 10, 1959, into a
Punjabi Sikhs Saini["Born into a Saini Sikh family and attending schools and academic institutions in India, Banga is clearly not a typical CEO of a global company, neither in his appearance nor in his experience.”Managing Diversity: Toward a globally inclusive workplace by Mor-Barak, Michàlle E., Publication date-2017 p.232] family, in
Khadki,
Bombay State (now Khadki,
Maharashtra), where his father, an army officer, was posted.
His family is originally from
Jalandhar, Punjab. His father, Harbhajan Singh Banga, is a retired lieutenant-general who served in the
Indian Army.
[Aime Williams, Camilla Hodgson and Anjli Raval (25 February 2023), Ajay Banga, World Bank nominee must swap finance for climate Financial Times.] He is the younger brother of businessman M. S. Banga.
Banga was educated at the St. Edward's School,
Banga was naturalized a US citizen in 2007.[ Biden nominates ex-Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga to lead World Bank Devex]
Business career
Early beginnings
Beginning his business career as a management trainee with Nestlé in 1981,
[Suzanne Kapner (13 September 2010), Master who plays his cards right Financial Times.] Banga spent the next 13 years working in jobs spanning sales, marketing, and general management. He later joined
PepsiCo and was involved in the launch of its international fast food franchises, including
Pizza Hut and
KFC,
in India as the economy
Licence Raj.
Citigroup, 1996–2009
In 1996, Banga joined
Citigroup, where he briefly worked as a debt collector as part of his training.
He headed up CitiFinancial and the US Consumer Assets Division from 2000 to 2002
[Greg Farrell (20 June 2009), Banga leaves Citi for MasterCard Financial Times.] 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.
During that time, he spearheaded Citi's strategy in the microfinance sector across the world.
In 2008, Banga became chief executive of the bank's Asia-Pacific business, and splitting time between New York and Hong Kong.[Andrew Martin and Eric Dash (12 April 2010), Naming a New Chief, MasterCard Signals It Is Open to Changes New York Times.] 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.[Maria Aspan (12 April 2010), MasterCard names ex-Citi exec Banga as CEO Reuters.] Banga received about $10 million in compensation in 2008 from Citigroup, making him one of the firm's highest paid executives that year.
Mastercard, 2010–2021
Mastercard announced in April 2010 that Banga, previously its chief operating officer (COO), would become president and chief executive officer, effective July 1, 2010, and a member of the board of directors.
Banga succeeded
Robert Selander, who had been CEO since March 1997.
In his first year, he received $13.5 million in compensation.
During his tenure, Banga tripled revenues, increased net income sixfold and grew market capitalization from under $30 billion to more than $360 billion.[Alan Rappeport and Coral Davenport (23 February 2023), U.S. Nominates Ajay Banga to Lead World Bank New York Times.] a group of about 100 firms that make corporate investments to preserve the environment and launched Mastercard's pledge to plant 100 million trees.
Later career
In 2020 Banga was elected chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) succeeding
Paul Polman. He previously was ICC's First Vice-Chair since June 2018.
On January 1, 2022, Banga assumed responsibilities at General Atlantic as vice chairman.
On May 24, 2022, he was nominated non-executive chairman of Exor, the diversified holding company controlled by the Agnelli family, replacing John Elkann (who remained as CEO).
Career in the public sector
In February 2015, President
Barack Obama appointed Banga as a member of the President's Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations.
Since the 2020 elections, Banga has been an outside adviser to Vice President Kamala Harris as chairman of the Partnership for Central America where he has led a group of business leaders who have advised her on the administration's work in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.[Andrew Duehren and Andrew Restuccia (23 February 2023), Biden to Nominate Former Mastercard Executive Ajay Banga to Lead World Bank Wall Street Journal.]
On February 23, 2023, Banga was nominated by President Biden to lead the World Bank. On May 3, 2023, the World Bank confirmed Banga as its fourteenth president,
Other activities
Corporate boards
Non-profit organizations
-
Partnership for Central America (PCA), chair (since 2022)
-
International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), chair (since 2020)
[ ICC elects Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga as new Chair International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), press release of 23 June 2020.]
-
American Red Cross (ARC), member of the Board of Governors (since 2014)
-
Economic Club of New York, vice chair of the Board
[ Trustees & Officers Economic Club of New York.]
-
Peterson Institute for International Economics, member of the Board of Directors
[ Board of Directors Peterson Institute for International Economics.]
-
Trilateral Commission, member
-
American India Foundation, co-chair of the Board of Directors (2016–2019)
[ AIF Announces Appointment of MasterCard CEO Ajay Banga as Co-Chair American India Foundation, press release of 26 January 2016.]
-
New York Hall of Science, vice chair of the Board of Trustee
-
National Urban League, member of the Board
-
Member of the Board of Trustees of the World Economic Forum.
Recognition
Banga was the keynote speaker at the
NYU Stern 2014 Graduate Convocation on May 22, 2014, where he spoke about the importance of diversity in driving innovation and leadership.
He also was a keynote speaker for his alma mater, the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, during the Class of 2015's convocation.
Banga is a regular speaker at various FinTech conferences and various leadership conferences. He also appeared on the
Mad Money show hosted by
Jim Cramer on Thursday, November 6, 2014
In 2023, Banga was named by Carnegie Corporation of New York as an honoree of the Great Immigrants Awards.
The Government of India awarded Banga the civilian honor of the Padma Shri in 2016.
In 2023, Banga was included in the "Time100 Climate" person list by Time Magazine
On April 10, 2024, Banga was among the guests invited to the state dinner hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden in honor of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the White House.[Minho Kim (10 April 2024), The Full Guest List for Biden’s State Dinner With Japan New York Times.]
In 2024, Banga was included in the Times 100 Most Influential People by the Time Magazine.
Participation in the 2023 G20 New Delhi Summit
Ajay Banga, the President of the
World Bank, participated in the 2023 G20 New Delhi summit. During the summit, he emphasized the need for a broader focus on issues such as food insecurity and
gender equality, alongside the World Bank's traditional focus on poverty eradication.
He praised the
New 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.
Banga also spoke about the changing global challenges, including pandemics and climate change, and how they have impacted the World Bank's mission.
Personal life
Banga has two daughters and three grandchildren. His eldest daughter, Aditi, holds a BA from Harvard University, a MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business, and works as an executive at
Instagram. His younger daughter, Jyotika, holds a BA and MBA from Harvard University and is a vice president at
Clear Secure. His
Son-in-law are
Irish Catholics and
Jews.
See also
External links
