Ajay Banga, an Indian-American business leader, has been named as the President of the World Bank for a five-year term. He is the first Indian-born individual to hold the role of World Bank president. Banga, who is 63 years old, is set to begin his new job in early June, as reported by various news outlets.
Biden nominated Banga for the office in late February, with Banga being the only candidate to replace David Malpass, the outgoing World Bank chief. According to Reuters, Banga was seen as a "true change maker" by World Bank shareholders in recent weeks, and they believe he will help accelerate reforms at the global development bank. The World Bank provides loans to developing countries, with the aim of helping them tackle challenges such as climate change. However, it is working to increase its lending to support these countries further.
Banga, a US citizen since 2007, is currently serving as vice chair of General Atlantic, a private equity firm. He is also the co-chair of the Partnership for Central America, where he worked closely with US Vice President Kamala Harris to mobilise public, private, and non-profit resources for Northern Central America. Banga is a former CEO of Mastercard, retiring in December 2021 after 12 years at the helm. During his tenure, he set a target of bringing 1 billion people and 50 million micro- and small businesses into the digital economy by 2025.
Biden chose Banga for the role due to his experience mobilising public-private resources to tackle urgent challenges such as climate change at a range of organisations. Born in Pune, Banga earned his bachelor's degree in economics from Delhi's St. Stephen's College before pursuing an MBA degree from IIM Ahmedabad. He began his career with Nestle in India and went on to work with Citigroup in India and Malaysia.
Banga has more than 30 years of business experience, serving in various roles at Mastercard and on the boards of the American Red Cross, Kraft Foods, and Dow Inc. He is also a member of the Trilateral Commission, a founding trustee of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum, a former member of the National Committee on US-China Relations, and Chairman Emeritus of the American India Foundation.
Banga is a co-founder of The Cyber Readiness Institute, Vice Chair of the Economic Club of New York, and served as a member of President Barack Obama's Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity. He is a past member of the US President's Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations.
In 2016, Banga was honoured with the Padma Shri Award by the President of India. He was named the Empower Ethnic Minority Role Model, received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, and was ranked among the top 10 best-performing CEOs in the world by Harvard Business Review in 2019. He was awarded the Foreign Policy Association Medal in 2012, and the Distinguished Friends of Singapore Public Service Star in 2021. Banga also featured in Fortune's list of the World's Leading Businesspersons and received the Leadership Award from the Business Council for International Understanding. In 2019, the Economic Times Awards for Corporate Excellence named Ajay Banga as 'Global Indian of the Year.'
It is worth noting that since its inception, the World Bank has been led by an American. With Banga's appointment, this changes for the first time in the institution's history.
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