By Asia Samachar | United States |
Ajay Singh Banga has been confirmed as the next president of the World Bank, making him the second Asian-born to lead the 77-year-old institution.
Nominated by U.S. President Joe Biden, Ajay was previously the president and CEO of Mastercard, a global organisation with nearly 24,000 employees.
Ajay, 63, was born in India and is now a U.S. citizen.
In a statement yesterday (May 3), the World Bank said its executive directors had selected Ajay as president for a five-year term beginning June 2, 2023.
He takes over from David Malpass, an economist and former US Treasury official who served in the Trump administration. The World Bank’s first Asian born president was Jim Yong Kim, a Korean born physician and anthropologist who served from 2012 to 2019.
He most recently served as Vice Chairman at General Atlantic. At Mastercard, the statement noted that under his leadership, MasterCard launched the Center for Inclusive Growth, which advances equitable and sustainable economic growth and financial inclusion around the world.
He was Honorary Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce, serving as Chairman from 2020-2022. He became an advisor to General Atlantic’s climate-focused fund, BeyondNetZero, at its inception in 2021.
Ajay also served as Co-Chair of the Partnership for Central America, a coalition of private organizations that works to advance economic opportunity across underserved populations in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. He was previously on the Boards of the American Red Cross, Kraft Foods, and Dow Inc.
Ajay Banga is a co-founder of The Cyber Readiness Institute and was Vice Chair of the Economic Club of New York. He was awarded the Foreign Policy Association Medal in 2012, the Padma Shri Award by 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, and the Distinguished Friends of Singapore Public Service Star in 2021.
“The Executive Directors followed the selection process agreed by shareholders in 2011. The process included an open, merit-based, and transparent nomination where any national of the Bank’s membership could be proposed by any Executive Director or Governor through an Executive Director. This was then followed by thorough due diligence and a comprehensive interview of Mr. Banga by the Executive Directors,” the Washington-headquartered institutions said in its statement.
It said the board looks forward to working with Banga on the World Bank Group Evolution process, as discussed at the April 2023 Spring Meetings, and on all the World Bank Group’s ambitions and efforts aimed at tackling the toughest development challenges facing developing countries.
The President of the World Bank Group is also the Chair of the Board of the Executive Directors of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). The President is also ex officio chair of the Board of Directors of the International Development Association (IDA), International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and of the Administrative Council of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).
Ajay was born in a small town near Pune, Maharashtra to a Sikh family in 1960. His mother was Jaswant Kaur and his father was Harbhajan Singh Banga, his father served in the Indian army as an officer.
He studied in India and began his career at Nestlé India, where he served in various sales and management roles from 1981 to 1994.
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