Ajay Banga

Ajay Banga
Ajaypal Singh Banga (born November 10, 1959) is an Indian-born American business executive. He is currently the president of the World Bank Group. He was vice chairman at General Atlantic, and was before that executive chairman of Mastercard, after having previously served as president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the company from July 2010 until December 31, 2020. He retired from this position on December 31, 2021, to join General Atlantic. He is also the chairman of Netherlands-based investment holding company Exor and chairman of the public-private Partnership for Central America with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris.
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 Biden administration.
He was awarded Padma Shri award by Govt Of India in 2016 in the field of trade and industry.
Early life and education
Ajay Banga was born on November 10, 1959 into a Saini Sikh family, in Khadki cantonment of Pune, 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. He is the younger brother of businessman M. S. Banga.
Banga was educated at St. Edward's School, Shimla, and at the Hyderabad Public School in Hyderabad. He went on to graduate with a bachelor of arts (honours) degree in economics from the St. Stephen's College, Delhi, subsequently earning his PGP in management (equivalent to MBA) from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.
Banga was naturalized a US citizen in 2007.
Business career
Early beginnings
Beginning his business career as a management trainee with Nestlé in 1981, 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 liberalized.
Citigroup, 1996–2009
In 1996, Banga joined Citigroup, where he briefly served as a debt collector as part of his training. He headed up CitiFinancial and the US Consumer Assets Division from 2000 to 2002 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. 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. 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 W. 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 $300 billion. In 2020, he announced the creation of the Priceless Planet Coalition, 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 served as ICC's First Vice-Chair since June 2018.
On January 1 2022, Banga assumed responsibilities at General Atlantic as vice chairman.
Career in the public sector
In February 2015, President Barack Obama appointed Banga to serve 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.
On February 23, 2023, Banga was nominated by President Biden to lead the World Bank. On May 3, 2023, the World Bank confirmed Ajay Banga as its fourteenth president, and started his term on June 2nd, 2023.
Other activities
Corporate boards
Exor, member of the Board of Directors (since 2021)
Temasek Holdings, member of the Board of Directors (since 2021)
BeyondNetZero, member of the Advisory Board (since 2021)
Dow Chemical Company, member of the Board of Directors (2013–2021)
Non-profit organizations
Partnership for Central America (PCA), chair (since 2022)
International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), chair (since 2020)
American Red Cross (ARC), member of the Board of Governors (since 2014)
Economic Club of New York, vice chair of the Board
Peterson Institute for International Economics, member of the Board of Directors
Trilateral Commission, member
American India Foundation, co-chair of the Board of Directors (2016–2019)
New York Hall of Science, vice chair of the Board of Trustee
National Urban League, member of the Board
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, 6 Nov 2014
The Government of India awarded Banga the civilian honour of the Padma Shri in 2016.
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.
See also
Indians in the New York City metropolitan area
Indian Americans
Gita Gopinath
References
External links
Ajay Banga at Penguin India
1959 births
20th-century American businesspeople
21st-century American businesspeople
American chief executives
American chief executives of financial services companies
American chief executives of Fortune 500 companies
American chief operating officers
American people of Indian descent
American people of Punjabi descent
American Sikhs
Businesspeople from Pune
Directors of Dow Inc.
Indian emigrants to the United States
Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad alumni
Indian Sikhs
Living people
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Presidents of the World Bank Group
Punjabi people
Recipients of the Padma Shri in trade and industry