American business executive (born 1959)
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
[
edit
]
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.
[15]
[16]
His family is originally from
Jalandhar
,
Punjab
. His father, Harbhajan Singh Banga, is a retired
lieutenant-general
who served in the
Indian Army
.
[17]
He is the younger brother of businessman
M. S. Banga
.
[18]
Banga was educated at
St. Edward's School, Shimla
,
[19]
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]
[20]
[21]
Banga was naturalized a
US citizen
in 2007.
[22]
Business career
[
edit
]
Early beginnings
[
edit
]
Beginning his business career as a management trainee with
Nestle
in 1981,
[23]
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
,
[17]
in India as the economy
liberalized
.
[24]
Citigroup, 1996?2009
[
edit
]
In 1996, Banga joined
Citigroup
, where he briefly served as a debt collector as part of his training.
[23]
He headed up CitiFinancial and the US Consumer Assets Division from 2000 to 2002
[25]
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.
[25]
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.
[26]
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.
[27]
Banga received about $10 million in compensation in 2008 from Citigroup, making him one of the firm's highest paid executives that year.
[27]
Mastercard, 2010?2021
[
edit
]
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
.
[20]
Banga succeeded
Robert W. Selander
, who had been CEO since March 1997.
[5]
In his first year, he received $13.5 million in compensation.
[23]
During his tenure, Banga tripled revenues, increased net income sixfold and grew market capitalization from under $30 billion to more than $300 billion.
[17]
In 2020, he announced the creation of the Priceless Planet Coalition,
[28]
a group of about 100 firms that make corporate investments to preserve the environment and launched Mastercard's pledge to plant 100 million trees.
[17]
Later career
[
edit
]
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.
[29]
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).
[30]
He stepped down in May 2023, following his appointment to the World Bank.
[31]
Career in the public sector
[
edit
]
In February 2015, President
Barack Obama
appointed Banga to serve as a member of the President's Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations.
[32]
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.
[33]
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
[
edit
]
Corporate boards
[
edit
]
Non-profit organizations
[
edit
]
Recognition
[
edit
]
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.
[44]
He also was a keynote speaker for his alma mater, the
Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad
, during the Class of 2015's convocation.
[45]
[46]
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
[47]
In 2023, Banga was named by
Carnegie Corporation of New York
as an honoree of the
Great Immigrants Awards
.
[48]
The
Government of India
awarded Banga the civilian honor of the
Padma Shri
in 2016.
[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
[
edit
]
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.
[52]
Banga also spoke about the changing global challenges, including pandemics and climate change, and how they have impacted the World Bank's mission.
[53]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Ajay Banga"
. Mastercard Incorporated
. Retrieved
February 11,
2021
.
- ^
"MasterCard CEO discusses diversity, technology, unpredictable world and personal incidents"
.
- ^
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
.
- ^
Reshmanth (April 6, 2015).
"These CEOs of Indian Origin will make you feel proud"
. South Report
. Retrieved
May 22,
2017
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"About Mastercard - Smart & Secure Payment Solutions"
.
www.mastercard.com
.
- ^
a
b
"Ajay Banga Joins General Atlantic as Vice Chairman"
.
www.businesswire.com
. 2021-12-01
. Retrieved
2022-08-05
.
- ^
"Exor appoints Ajay Banga as Chairman | EXOR"
.
www.exor.com
. Retrieved
2024-04-13
.
- ^
"Exor Chairman Ajay Banga resigns Nitin Nohria to be proposed as new Chairman at AGM | EXOR"
.
www.exor.com
. Retrieved
2024-04-13
.
- ^
a
b
"Partnership for Central America - Ajay Banga"
.
Partnership for Central America
. Retrieved
2023-02-23
.
- ^
"President Biden Announces U.S. Nomination of Ajay Banga to Lead World Bank"
.
The White House
. 23 February 2023
. Retrieved
2023-02-23
.
- ^
"ICC elects Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga as new Chair"
.
International Chamber of Commerce
. 23 June 2020.
- ^
a
b
Shalal, Andrea; Lawder, David (May 3, 2023).
"World Bank board elects US nominee Ajay Banga as president"
. Reuters.
- ^
Rappeport, Alan; Davenport, Coral (February 23, 2023).
"U.S. Nominates Ajay Banga to Lead World Bank"
.
The New York Times
– via NYTimes.com.
- ^
House, The White (February 23, 2023).
"President Biden Announces U.S. Nomination of Ajay Banga to Lead World Bank"
.
The White House
.
- ^
Parker, Garrett (2019-03-01).
"10 Things You Didn't Know about Mastercard CEO Ajaypal Singh Banga"
.
Money Inc
. Retrieved
2020-12-21
.
- ^
"Maharashtra-Born Ajay Banga To Take Over As President Of World Bank on June 2"
.
News18 India
.
- ^
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
.
- ^
Karmali, Naazneen.
"India's Banga Brothers"
.
Forbes
. Retrieved
2020-04-09
.
- ^
"World Bank prez nominee studied at St Edward's : The Tribune India"
. Retrieved
5 March
2023
.
- ^
a
b
"Bloomberg - Executive Profile"
.
www.bloomberg.com
. Retrieved
2019-06-16
.
- ^
"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
.
- ^
Biden nominates ex-Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga to lead World Bank
Devex
- ^
a
b
c
Suzanne Kapner (13 September 2010),
Master who plays his cards right
Financial Times
.
- ^
"Ajaypal Banga"
.
Forbes
. Retrieved
2020-04-09
.
- ^
a
b
Greg Farrell (20 June 2009),
Banga leaves Citi for MasterCard
Financial Times
.
- ^
Andrew Martin and Eric Dash (12 April 2010),
Naming a New Chief, MasterCard Signals It Is Open to Changes
New York Times
.
- ^
a
b
Maria Aspan (12 April 2010),
MasterCard names ex-Citi exec Banga as CEO
Reuters
.
- ^
Alan Rappeport and Coral Davenport (23 February 2023),
U.S. Nominates Ajay Banga to Lead World Bank
New York Times
.
- ^
"ICC elects Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga as new Chair"
.
ICC - International Chamber of Commerce
. 2020-06-23
. Retrieved
2021-03-05
.
- ^
"Exor appoints Ajay Banga as Chairman | EXOR"
.
www.exor.com
. Retrieved
2024-04-13
.
- ^
"Exor Chairman Ajay Banga resigns Nitin Nohria to be proposed as new Chairman at AGM | EXOR"
.
www.exor.com
. Retrieved
2024-04-13
.
- ^
"President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts"
.
whitehouse.gov
. 5 February 2015 – via
National Archives
.
- ^
Andrew Duehren and Andrew Restuccia (23 February 2023),
Biden to Nominate Former Mastercard Executive Ajay Banga to Lead World Bank
Wall Street Journal
.
- ^
Exor appoints Ajay Banga as Chairman
Exor
, press release of 24 May 2022.
- ^
Ajay Banga and Jenny Lee to join Temasek Board
Temasek Holdings
, press release of 30 September 2021.
- ^
Advisory Board
BeyondNetZero.
- ^
Karsh, Melissa (July 16, 2021).
"General Atlantic Targets $4 Billion for New Climate Strategy"
. Bloomberg Law.
- ^
Dow Board of Directors nominates Debra L. Dial and Luis A. Moreno to the Board
Dow Chemical Company
, press of 11 February 2020.
- ^
ICC elects Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga as new Chair
International Chamber of Commerce
(ICC), press release of 23 June 2020.
- ^
Trustees & Officers
Economic Club of New York
.
- ^
Board of Directors
Peterson Institute for International Economics
.
- ^
AIF Announces Appointment of MasterCard CEO Ajay Banga as Co-Chair
American India Foundation
, press release of 26 January 2016.
- ^
"Leadership and Governance - World Economic Forum"
.
- ^
"Press Release - Ajay Banga, President & CEO of MasterCard, to Keynote 2014 Graduate Convocation - NYU Stern"
.
www.stern.nyu.edu
.
- ^
"MasterCard CEO Ajay Banga's six lessons on leadership?as told to the IIM-A class of 2015 ? Quartz"
.
qz.com
. 8 April 2015.
- ^
Ajay Banga.
"A Leader Listens"
.
Penguin Random House India
. Retrieved
25 November
2020
.
- ^
Allen, Karma (6 November 2014).
"Cramer, MasterCard CEO talk radical banking moves"
.
CNBC
.
- ^
"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
.
- ^
"Padma Awards 2016"
.
- ^
Minho Kim (10 April 2024),
The Full Guest List for Biden’s State Dinner With Japan
New York Times
.
- ^
"World Bank's focus will include food insecurity and gender equality, says President Ajay Banga"
. CNBC TV18. 2023-09-09.
- ^
"World Bank's focus will include food insecurity and gender equality, says President Ajay Banga"
. CNBC TV18. 2023-09-09.
- ^
"World Bank president Ajay Banga on digital infrastructure"
. ET CIO. 2023-09-11.
External links
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