World Bank President Ajay Banga among 2023’s list of ‘Great Immigrants’; Pedro Pascal, Ke Huy Quan named too

President of the World Bank Ajay Banga has been named among the 2023 list of ‘Great Immigrants’ that honours individuals who have strengthened America through their contributions. The list is curated by the philanthropic organisation in New York, Carnegie Corporation.  

Popular Chilean actor and star of HBO’s drama series ‘The Last of Us’, Pedro Pascal, is also one of the honourees, as well as Vietnamese born actor Ke Huy Quan, who won an Oscar this year for Best Supporting Actor in ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’. 

Ajay Banga, in June 2023, became the first Indian American to lead World Bank. He is the only Indian in this year’s list. 

The World Bank President started his career in India and spent 13 years at Nestle India and 2 years at PepsiCo. He joined Citigroup in 1996, moving on to eventually lead the Asia-Pacific region as CEO. He moved to the US and served as the president and CEO of Mastercard for 12 years.

Before joining the World Bank, Banga was the Vice chairman at General Atlantic. He is also a co-founder of the Cyber Readiness Institute and served as vice-chair of the Economic Club of New York.

Banga has been awarded with the Padma Shri, apart from Foreign Policy Association Medal, and the Ellis Island Medal of Honour.

This year’s list honoured 35 individuals from 33 countries across backgrounds and work as educators, mentors, philanthropists, job creators, public servants, storytellers, and advocates. Apart from Ajay Banga, Pedro Pascal and Ke Huy Quan, the foundation also honoured Director-General of World Trade Organisation Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala who was born in Nigeria, US Congressman Ted Lieu who was born in Taiwan, Grammy Award-Winning Singer and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Ang lique Kidjo who was born in Benin, Polish-born Professor Emeritus of Chemistry in Cornell University and Nobel Laureate Roald Hoffmann, and Professor of Economics in Stanford University and Nobel Laureate, Guido Imbens, born in the Netherlands. 

Dame Louise Richardson, president of Carnegie Corporation of New York said, “The 35 naturalised citizens honoured today embody that tradition, reminding us that the contributions of immigrants make our country more vibrant and our democracy more resilient.”

Also read: Indian-origin Ajay Banga elected as new World Bank president for 5-year term