Indian-origin Ajay Banga appointed as next President of World Bank

NEW YORK: Ajay Banga, 63, has been selected as the next President of the World Bank, becoming the first-ever Indian-American to reach the position. The selection was led by the 25-member executive of the World Bank. President Joe Biden had earlier announced that the US would be nominating Ajay Banga to head the World Bank.

Ajay Banga, who is currently the vice-chairman of the American company General Atlantic, is the former CEO of MasterCard. Banga has been a US citizen since 2007.

Born in a Sikh family in Pune, Banga has roots in Punjab. His father was an Indian Army officer. He received his higher education from St. Stephen's College, Delhi and Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and started his professional career in 1981 with Nestlé. He later worked at PepsiCo.

India honored Ajay Banga with Padma Shri in 2016. Active in the business world for over three decades, Banga has held various positions at MasterCard, the Board of the American Red Cross, and Kraft Foods. Banga served as CEO of MasterCard from 2010 to 2020.