Ajay Banga, a business executive with extensive experience running successful organisations in developing nations and creating public-private partnerships to address financial inclusion and climate change, was today announced as the United States’ nominee to lead the World Bank by Vice President Biden.
Statement from President Biden: “Ajay is uniquely equipped to lead the World Bank at this critical moment in history. He has spent more than three decades building and managing successful, global companies that create jobs and bring investment to developing economies, and guiding organizations through periods of fundamental change. He has a proven track record managing people and systems, and partnering with global leaders around the world to deliver results.
Additionally, he has significant expertise in combining public and private funding to address today’s most pressing problems, such as climate change. Ajay, who was raised in India, has a distinctive viewpoint on the opportunities and difficulties that face developing nations, as well as how the World Bank can carry out its ambitious agenda to reduce poverty and increase prosperity.
Ajay Banga, Nominee for President, The World Bank
Currently, General Atlantic’s vice chairman is Ajay Banga. Prior to this, he led the company through a strategic, technological, and cultural transformation as President and CEO of Mastercard.
Ajay has developed into a global leader in technology, data, financial services, and innovation for inclusion over the course of his career. He will preside as Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce from 2020 to 2022 as Honorary Chairman. In addition, he serves as Independent Director at Temasek and Chairman of Exor. When BeyondNetZero, General Atlantic’s climate-focused fund, was established in 2021, he joined as an advisor. He has previously held positions on the boards of Dow Inc., Kraft Foods, and the American Red Cross. As the Vice President Harris’ co-chair of the Partnership for Central America, Ajay has collaborated closely with him. He is a former member of the National Committee on United States-China Relations, a founding trustee of the U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum, and a member of the Trilateral Commission.
He was a member of President Obama’s Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity, co-founder of The Cyber Readiness Institute, vice chair of the Economic Club of New York, and vice chair of the Economic Club of New York. He previously served on the President’s Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations in the United States.
The President of India presented Ajay with the Padma Shri Award 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. He also received the Foreign Policy Association Medal in 2012.
