Who is Ajay Banga? Indian-American executive nominated to head World Bank

US President Joe Biden on Thursday nominated Indian-American Ajay Banga to be the President of the World Bank. Banga will replace David Malpass, who has been heading the financial institution since 2019. If confirmed, this will be the first time the Washington-headquartered global institution will have an Indian-American at its helm.

Also read: Biden nominates Ajay Banga, former Mastercard chief and IIM-A grad, to head World Bank
 

All you need to know about Ajay Banga

- Born in the Pune city of Maharashtra, Banga went on to head some of the top global firms like Mastercard, Citigroup, Nestle, and PepsiCo. He holds a bachelor's degree in Economics from St. Stephen's College, Delhi University, and a PGP in Management from the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A). In 2016, the Government of India awarded him the fourth-highest civilian award, Padma Shri.

- Raised in India but now a US citizen, Banga is vice chair of General Atlantic, an American private equity firm that has invested over $800 million in EV charging solutions, solar power, and sustainable farming. He also serves as honorary chair of the International Chamber of Commerce.

- Prior to joining General Atlantic, Banga was the chief executive officer at Mastercard, where he set a target of bringing 1 billion people and 50 million micro- and small businesses into the digital economy by 2025, and led work on climate, gender, and sustainable agriculture. 

- Banga has also served as chief executive officer of Citigroup’s Asia Pacific Region. In that role, he was responsible for all of the company’s business lines in the region, including institutional banking, alternative investments, wealth management, consumer banking, and credit cards.

- Banga began his career at Nestle, where for 13 years he worked on assignments spanning sales, marketing, and general management. He spent two years with PepsiCo, where he was instrumental in launching its fast-food franchises in India.

Nominating him for the top post at the World Bank, US President Biden said Banga is uniquely equipped to lead the institution "at this critical moment in history". "He has spent more than three decades building and managing successful, global companies that create jobs and bring investment to developing economies, and guiding organizations through periods of fundamental change," Biden said. "He has a proven track record managing people and systems, and partnering with global leaders around the world to deliver results."
 
The US President further said Banga has critical experience mobilising public-private resources to tackle the most urgent challenges of our time, including climate change. "Raised in India, Ajay has a unique perspective on the opportunities and challenges facing developing countries and how the World Bank can deliver on its ambitious agenda to reduce poverty and expand prosperity."

Banga worked closely with Vice President Kamala Harris as co-chair of the Partnership for Central America, which has mobilized over $4 billion in public, private, and non-profit funds to advance economic opportunity in Northern Central America.

(With inputs from Reuters)