Ajay Banga

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

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, 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.

Early life and education
Ajay Banga was born on November 10, 1959, into a 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 (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.

Banga was naturalized a US citizen in 2007.

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.

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). He stepped down in May 2023, following his appointment to the World Bank.

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 2, 2023.

Corporate boards

 * Exor, member of the Board of Directors (2021-2023) and chairman (2022-2023)
 * Temasek Holdings, member of the Board of Directors (2021-2023)
 * 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
 * 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.

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.

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.