Ajay Banga: All About Indian-origin Ex-Mastercard CEO Set to Become World Bank Chief | 10 Points

US nominee to lead the World Bank, Ajay Banga, is set to win the election of the lender’s next chief with no challengers emerging as the nomination period closed.

US President Joe Biden had nominated Banga, 63, in February to replace David Malpass, who announced his resignation after months of controversy over his initial failure to say he backed the scientific consensus on climate change.

Here is all you need to know about Ajay Banga:

1. Ajay Banga currently serves as Vice Chairman at General Atlantic. He was the President and CEO of Mastercard, leading the company through a strategic, technological and cultural transformation.
2. Banga has more than 30 years of business experience, having served in various roles at Mastercard and the boards of the American Red Cross, Kraft Foods and Dow Inc.
3. Ajay has been awarded the Padma Shri in 2016, the Foreign Policy Association Medal in 2012, the Ellis Island Medal of Honour and the Business Council for International Understanding’s Global Leadership Award in 2019 and other awards.
4. He is the first Indian-born nominee to the World Bank president role. He has also worked and held prominent positions in companies like Nestlé, PepsiCo and Citigroup.
5. The World Bank candidate did his graduation in Economics from St Stephen’s College in Delhi University. He is also an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.
6. According to reports, Banga was working as Mastercard’s chief operating officer where he drew a whooping salary of $23,250,000 (Rs 1.92 billion) every year at or Rs 5.2 million per day.
7. Banga’s net worth was $206 million (Rs 17 billion) in 2021, according to reports. He also owns Mastercard stocks worth $113 million. However, since 2010, he sold stocks worth lakhs of dollars.
8. Ajay Banga is the son of Lieutenant General Harbhajan Banga, who was in the Indian army. His family is from Jalandhar, Punjab and he completed his schooling at Hyderabad Public School.
9. Banga has a proven track record managing people and systems, and partnering with global leaders around the world to deliver results, a White House statement said.
10. He has also worked closely with Vice President Harris as the Co-Chair of the Partnership for Central America.

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