Washington, February 23, 2023: US President Joe Biden has nominated Indian-American business veteran Ajay Banga to lead the World Bank.
Ajay Banga, 63, currently serves as Vice Chairman at General Atlantic, the New York headquartered growth equity firm providing capital and strategic support for global growth companies. Previously, he was President and CEO of Mastercard, the world’s second largest payment-processing corporation, leading the company through a strategic, technological and cultural transformation.
Banga's nomination comes amid a push for development lenders to revamp and address global problems like environmental issues more effectively.
Banga has "critical experience mobilizing public-private resources to tackle the most urgent challenges of our time, including climate change," said Biden in a statement.
“Raised in India, Ajay has a unique perspective on the opportunities and challenges facing developing countries and how the World Bank can deliver on its ambitious agenda to reduce poverty and expand prosperity,” the US President added.
The current chief of World Bank David Malpass announced plans to step down early.
The United States is the World Bank's largest shareholder. The development lender has just started accepting candidate nominations in a process set to run until March 29.
The president of the World Bank is typically American, while the leader of the International Monetary Fund is customarily European.
Speaking to reporters, a senior US administration official said: "At Mastercard and General Atlantic, Ajay has made combating climate change and mobilizing private capital to help power the green transition a priority."
"These are experiences and priorities that will guide and drive his work in the years ahead at the World Bank," the official said.
Last week current World Bank President Malpass -- who was nominated to the post by Biden's predecessor Donald Trump in 2019 -- said he would step down nearly a year early, ending a tenure that was clouded by questions over his climate stance.
His term would originally have ended in 2024.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen earlier said that lenders' core models, where countries borrow to make specific investments addressing developmental constraints, is "insufficient to meet the moment."
US Vice President Kamala Harris congratulates Ajay Banga
US Vice President Kamala Harris congratulated Ajay Banga on his nomination to lead the World Bank. “Ajay Banga will be a transformative World Bank President as the institution works to deliver on its core development goals and address pressing global challenges, including climate change,” Harris said.
“Since I was elected Vice President, Ajay and I have worked closely together on a new model of public-private partnership designed to address the root causes of migration in Northern Central America. Through that partnership, nearly 50 businesses and organizations have mobilized to generate more than USD 4.2 billion in commitments that will create opportunity and hope for people in the region. Ajay has brought great insight, energy, and persistence to the challenges of promoting economic development and tackling the root causes of migration,” the US Vice President she added.
Who is Ajay Banga?
Ajay Banga was born in Pune into a Saini Sikh family, where his father, an army officer, was posted. His family is originally from Jalandhar, Punjab and his father, Harbhajan Singh Banga is a retired lieutenant-general who served in the Indian Army.
After his schooling from Hyderabad, Banga went on to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree in Economics from St. Stephen's College, Delhi University followed by PGP in Management (equivalent to MBA) from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.
In his career spanning more than 3 decades, he also worked with Multi-national FMCG giants such as Nestle and PepsiCo in diversified roles.
Over the course of his career, he has become a global leader in technology, data, financial services and innovating for inclusion. He is 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.
Banga is also the former chairman of the U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC) representing more than 300 of the largest international companies investing in India.
He previously served on the Boards of the American Red Cross, Kraft Foods and Dow Inc. Ajay has worked closely with Vice President Harris as the Co-Chair of the Partnership for Central America. He is a member of the Trilateral Commission, a founding trustee of the U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum, a former member of the National Committee on United States-China Relations, and Chairman Emeritus of the American India Foundation.
In the year 2015, the then US President Barack Obama had appointed Banga to serve as a member of the President's Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations.
Banga was awarded the Foreign Policy Association Medal in 2012, the Padma Shri Award by the President of India in 2016
