Ajay Banga Selected 14th President of the World Bank

 

The Executive Directors of the World Bank have today chosen Ajay Banga as President of the World Bank for a five-year period starting on June 2, 2023.

 

Ajaypal Singh Banga known as Ajay Banga, is an Indian-born American business executive, most recently held the position of Vice Chairman at General Atlantic. Previously, he served as President and CEO of Mastercard, a global organization employing almost 24,000 individuals. Under his leadership, MasterCard established the Center for Inclusive Growth, which promotes fair and sustainable economic growth and financial inclusion worldwide. He held the position of Honorary Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce, serving as Chairman from 2020 to 2022. In 2021, he became an advisor to General Atlantic's climate-focused fund, BeyondNetZero. Banga was Co-Chair of the Partnership for Central America, a coalition of private organizations working to enhance economic opportunities for underserved populations in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. He also served on the boards of the American Red Cross, Kraft Foods, and Dow Inc.

 

Ajay Banga is one of the co-founders of The Cyber Readiness Institute and served as Vice Chair of the Economic Club of New York. He received the Foreign Policy Association Medal in 2012, the Padma Shri Award from the President of India in 2016, the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, and the Business Council for International Understanding's Global Leadership Award in 2019. In 2021, he was honored with the Distinguished Friends of Singapore Public Service Star.

 

The Executive Directors followed the selection process agreed upon by shareholders in 2011. The process involved an open, merit-based, and transparent nomination, where any citizen of a Bank member country could be proposed by an Executive Director or Governor through an Executive Director. This was followed by a thorough evaluation and a comprehensive interview of Mr. Banga by the Executive Directors.

 

The Board eagerly anticipates collaborating with Mr. Banga on the World Bank Group Evolution process, as discussed during the Spring Meetings in April 2023, as well as on all the World Bank Group's ambitions and endeavors to address the most challenging development issues faced by developing nations.

 

Early Life and Education

 

Ajay Banga, born on November 10, 1959, hails from Khadki cantonment in Pune, Maharashtra, India. He was born into a Saini Sikh family, and his father, a former army officer, was stationed there. Originally from Jalandhar, Punjab, his family has its roots there. Ajay Banga's 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.

 

For his education, Banga attended St. Edward's School in Shimla and later the Hyderabad Public School in Hyderabad. He pursued a bachelor's degree in economics (honours) from St. Stephen's College in Delhi. Subsequently, he obtained his PGP in management (MBA) from the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad.

 

In 2007, Ajay Banga acquired US citizenship through naturalization.

 

The President of the World Bank Group also serves as the Chair of the Board of the Executive Directors of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). The President is also the chair of the Board of Directors of the International Development Association (IDA), International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and the Administrative Council of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), by virtue of their position.