Who is Ajay Banga, US President Biden's pick for World Bank president?
If confirmed by the World Bank Board of Directors, Ajay Banga would be the first-ever Indian-American and Sikh-American to head the top international financial institution.
FollowThe United States has nominated Ajay Banga to lead the World Bank, with President Joe Biden stating that the Indian American business leader is uniquely equipped to lead the institution at this critical moment in history.
Banga would be the first-ever Indian-American and Sikh-American to head the top international financial institution if confirmed by the World Bank Board of Directors.
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The 63-year-old is currently Vice Chairman at General Atlantic. Prior to this, Banga was President and CEO of Mastercard. Under him, Mastercard underwent a technological, strategic and cultural transformation. Banga led the global organisation (Mastercard) with nearly 20,000 employees, advocated for diversity and inclusion, and delivered results. His efforts have helped bring 500 million unbanked people into the digital economy, deploy private capital into climate solutions, and expand economic opportunity through the Partnership for Central America.
India honoured him with the Padma Shri in 2016.
In a statement, Biden said that besides guiding organisations through periods of fundamental change, Banga has spent over three decades building and managing successful, global companies that create employment and bring investment to developing economies.
While stating that Banga has a proven track record of partnering with global leaders around the world to deliver results and managing people and systems, the US President said that the Indian-American also had critical experience mobilising public-private resources to tackle the most urgent challenges of our time, including climate change.
Banga, who was raised in India, has a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities facing developing countries and how the World Bank can deliver its ambitious agenda to reduce poverty and usher in prosperity, Biden added.
Banga has also worked closely with Vice President Kamala Harris as the Partnership for Central America Co-Chair. In her remarks about Banga's nomination, Harris said he had brought great persistence, insight and energy to tackling the root causes of migration and promoting economic development.
Banga's track record of forging partnerships between the public sector, private sector, and non-profits uniquely equips him to help mobilise the private capital and press for the reforms needed to meet shared ambitions. He has, over the course of his career, become a global leader in technology, data, financial services and innovating for inclusion.
The Indian-American is the honorary chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce, serving as chairman from 2020-2022. He is also chairman of Exor and independent director at Temasek. He became an advisor to General Atlantic's climate-focused fund, BeyondNetZero, at its inception in 2021.
He was previously on the Boards of the American Red Cross, Kraft Foods and Dow Inc. He is a member of the Trilateral Commission, a founding trustee of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum, a former National Committee on US-China Relations member, and Chairman Emeritus of the American India Foundation.
Banga served as a member of President Barack Obama's Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity and is a co-founder of The Cyber Readiness Institute, Vice Chair of the Economic Club of New York. He is a past member of the US President's Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations.
He was awarded the Foreign Policy Association Medal in 2012, the Ellis Island Medal of Honour and the Business Council for International Understanding's Global Leadership Award in 2019, and the Distinguished Friends of Singapore Public Service Star in 2021.
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