Indian American Ajay Banga on Friday took over as the President of the World Bank, making him the first person of colour to head either of the two global financial institutions, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
On May 3, the Executive Directors of the World Bank selected Banga, 63. He selected as the 14th President of the World Bank for a five-year term.
In February, President Joe Biden announced that the US would nominate Banga to lead the World Bank
Banga has become the first-ever Indian-American to head the World Bank. He replaces David Malpass, who announced his decision to step down in February.
Banga most recently served as Vice Chairman at General Atlantic.
Previously, he was President and CEO of Mastercard, a global organization with nearly 24,000 employees.
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 the Honorary Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce. Thus, serving as Chairman from 2020-2022. He became an advisor to General Atlantic’s climate-focused fund, BeyondNetZero, at its inception in 2021.
Also, Banga served as Co-Chair of the Partnership for Central America, a coalition of private organizations. It 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. Moreover, Banga is a co-founder of The Cyber Readiness Institute and was Vice Chair of the Economic Club of New York