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Ajay Banga

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Ajay
Banga at the White House in 2023
President of the World Bank Group
Incumbent
Assumed office
June 2, 2023
Preceded byDavid Malpass
Personal details
Born
Ajaypal Singh Banga

(1959-11-10) November 10, 1959 (age 65)
Poona, Bombay State, India
CitizenshipIndian (1959–2007)
American (2007–present)
RelativesM. S. Banga (brother)
EducationSt. Stephen's College, Delhi (BA)
Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (MBA)

Ajaypal Singh "Ajay" Banga (born November 10, 1959[1]) is an Indian-born American business executive.[2] He is currently the president of the World Bank Group.[3] He was the 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.[4][5] He retired from this position on December 31, 2021, and joined General Atlantic as its vice chairman.[6]

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,[7][8] and chairman of the public-private Partnership for Central America with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris.[9][10]

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.[11]

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.[12][13][14]

Early life and education

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Ajay Banga was born on November 10, 1959, into a Sikh Saini[15] family, in Khadki cantonment of Pune, Maharashtra, where his father, an army officer, was posted.[16][17] His family is originally from Jalandhar, Punjab. His father, Harbhajan Singh Banga, is a retired lieutenant-general who served in the Indian Army.[18] He is the younger brother of businessman M. S. Banga.[19]

Banga was educated at St. Edward's School, Shimla,[20] and at the Hyderabad Public School in Hyderabad. He went on to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts (honors) 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.[5][21][22]

Banga was naturalized a US citizen in 2007.[23]

Business career

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Early beginnings

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Beginning his business career as a management trainee with Nestlé in 1981,[24] 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,[18] in India as the economy liberalized.[25]

Banga with Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Citigroup, 1996–2009

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In 1996, Banga joined Citigroup, where he briefly served as a debt collector as part of his training.[24] He headed up CitiFinancial and the US Consumer Assets Division from 2000 to 2002[26] 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.[26] During that time, he spearheaded Citi's strategy in the microfinance sector across the world.[5]

In 2008, Banga became chief executive of the bank's Asia-Pacific business, and splitting time between New York and Hong Kong.[27] 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.[28] Banga received about $10 million in compensation in 2008 from Citigroup, making him one of the firm's highest paid executives that year.[28]

Mastercard, 2010–2021

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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.[21] Banga succeeded Robert W. Selander, who had been CEO since March 1997.[5] In his first year, he received $13.5 million in compensation.[24]

During his tenure, Banga tripled revenues, increased net income sixfold and grew market capitalization from under $30 billion to more than $360 billion.[18] In 2020, he announced the creation of the Priceless Planet Coalition,[29] a group of about 100 firms that make corporate investments to preserve the environment and launched Mastercard's pledge to plant 100 million trees.[18]

Later career

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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.[30]

On January 1, 2022, Banga assumed responsibilities at General Atlantic as vice chairman.[6]

On the 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).[7] He stepped down in May 2023, following his appointment to the World Bank.[8]

Career in the public sector

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In February 2015, President Barack Obama appointed Banga to serve as a member of the President's Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations.[31]

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.[32]

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,[12] and started his term on June 2, 2023.[3]

Other activities

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Corporate boards

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Non-profit organizations

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Recognition

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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.[43] He also was a keynote speaker for his alma mater, the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, during the Class of 2015's convocation.[44][45] 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[46]

In 2023, Banga was named by Carnegie Corporation of New York as an honoree of the Great Immigrants Awards.[47]

The Government of India awarded Banga the civilian honor of the Padma Shri in 2016.[48]

In 2023, Banga was included in the "Time100 Climate" person list by Time Magazine[49]

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.[50]

Participation in the 2023 G20 New Delhi Summit

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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.[51] 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.[51] Banga also spoke about the changing global challenges, including pandemics and climate change, and how they have impacted the World Bank's mission.[52]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Ajay Banga". Mastercard Incorporated. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
  2. ^ "MasterCard CEO discusses diversity, technology, unpredictable world and personal incidents".
  3. ^ a b Rappeport, Alan (2023-06-02). "Ajay Banga Era Begins at the World Bank". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-06-10.
  4. ^ Reshmanth (April 6, 2015). "These CEOs of Indian Origin will make you feel proud". South Report. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  5. ^ a b c d "About Mastercard - Smart & Secure Payment Solutions". www.mastercard.com.
  6. ^ a b "Ajay Banga Joins General Atlantic as Vice Chairman". www.businesswire.com. 2021-12-01. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
  7. ^ a b "Exor appoints Ajay Banga as Chairman | EXOR". www.exor.com. Retrieved 2024-04-13.
  8. ^ a b "Exor Chairman Ajay Banga resigns Nitin Nohria to be proposed as new Chairman at AGM | EXOR". www.exor.com. Retrieved 2024-04-13.
  9. ^ a b "Partnership for Central America - Ajay Banga". Partnership for Central America. Retrieved 2023-02-23.
  10. ^ "President Biden Announces U.S. Nomination of Ajay Banga to Lead World Bank". The White House. 23 February 2023. Retrieved 2023-02-23.
  11. ^ "ICC elects Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga as new Chair". International Chamber of Commerce. 23 June 2020.
  12. ^ a b Shalal, Andrea; Lawder, David (May 3, 2023). "World Bank board elects US nominee Ajay Banga as president". Reuters.
  13. ^ Rappeport, Alan; Davenport, Coral (February 23, 2023). "U.S. Nominates Ajay Banga to Lead World Bank". The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
  14. ^ House, The White (February 23, 2023). "President Biden Announces U.S. Nomination of Ajay Banga to Lead World Bank". The White House.
  15. ^ "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
  16. ^ Parker, Garrett (2019-03-01). "10 Things You Didn't Know about Mastercard CEO Ajaypal Singh Banga". Money Inc. Retrieved 2020-12-21.
  17. ^ "Maharashtra-Born Ajay Banga To Take Over As President Of World Bank on June 2". News18 India. 4 May 2023.
  18. ^ a b c d e f Aime Williams, Camilla Hodgson and Anjli Raval (25 February 2023), Ajay Banga, World Bank nominee must swap finance for climate Financial Times.
  19. ^ Karmali, Naazneen. "India's Banga Brothers". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-04-09.
  20. ^ "World Bank prez nominee studied at St Edward's : The Tribune India". Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  21. ^ a b "Bloomberg - Executive Profile". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2019-06-16.
  22. ^ "MasterCard Names Ajay Banga President and Chief Executive Officer Succeeding Robert W. Selander". Archived from the original on 2022-02-15. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  23. ^ Biden nominates ex-Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga to lead World Bank Devex
  24. ^ a b c Suzanne Kapner (13 September 2010), Master who plays his cards right Financial Times.
  25. ^ "Ajaypal Banga". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-04-09.
  26. ^ a b Greg Farrell (20 June 2009), Banga leaves Citi for MasterCard Financial Times.
  27. ^ Andrew Martin and Eric Dash (12 April 2010), Naming a New Chief, MasterCard Signals It Is Open to Changes New York Times.
  28. ^ a b Maria Aspan (12 April 2010), MasterCard names ex-Citi exec Banga as CEO Reuters.
  29. ^ Alan Rappeport and Coral Davenport (23 February 2023), U.S. Nominates Ajay Banga to Lead World Bank New York Times.
  30. ^ "ICC elects Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga as new Chair". ICC - International Chamber of Commerce. 2020-06-23. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  31. ^ "President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts". whitehouse.gov. 5 February 2015 – via National Archives.
  32. ^ Andrew Duehren and Andrew Restuccia (23 February 2023), Biden to Nominate Former Mastercard Executive Ajay Banga to Lead World Bank Wall Street Journal.
  33. ^ Exor appoints Ajay Banga as Chairman Exor, press release of 24 May 2022.
  34. ^ Ajay Banga and Jenny Lee to join Temasek Board Temasek Holdings, press release of 30 September 2021.
  35. ^ Advisory Board BeyondNetZero.
  36. ^ Karsh, Melissa (July 16, 2021). "General Atlantic Targets $4 Billion for New Climate Strategy". Bloomberg Law.
  37. ^ Dow Board of Directors nominates Debra L. Dial and Luis A. Moreno to the Board Dow Chemical Company, press of 11 February 2020.
  38. ^ ICC elects Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga as new Chair International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), press release of 23 June 2020.
  39. ^ Trustees & Officers Economic Club of New York.
  40. ^ Board of Directors Peterson Institute for International Economics.
  41. ^ AIF Announces Appointment of MasterCard CEO Ajay Banga as Co-Chair American India Foundation, press release of 26 January 2016.
  42. ^ "Leadership and Governance - World Economic Forum".
  43. ^ "Press Release - Ajay Banga, President & CEO of MasterCard, to Keynote 2014 Graduate Convocation - NYU Stern". www.stern.nyu.edu.
  44. ^ "MasterCard CEO Ajay Banga's six lessons on leadership—as told to the IIM-A class of 2015 — Quartz". qz.com. 8 April 2015.
  45. ^ Ajay Banga. "A Leader Listens". Penguin Random House India. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  46. ^ Allen, Karma (6 November 2014). "Cramer, MasterCard CEO talk radical banking moves". CNBC.
  47. ^ "Pedro Pascal and World Bank's Ajay Banga among those named to Carnegie's 2023 Great Immigrants list". AP News. 2023-06-28. Retrieved 2024-06-17.
  48. ^ "Padma Awards 2016".
  49. ^ "TIME100 Climate 2023: Ajay Banga". Time. 2023-11-16.
  50. ^ Minho Kim (10 April 2024), The Full Guest List for Biden’s State Dinner With Japan New York Times.
  51. ^ a b "World Bank's focus will include food insecurity and gender equality, says President Ajay Banga". CNBC TV18. 2023-09-09.
  52. ^ "World Bank president Ajay Banga on digital infrastructure". ET CIO. 2023-09-11.
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Diplomatic posts
Preceded by President of the World Bank Group
2023–present 		Incumbent
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