WB appoints Ajay Banga as group president

The World Bank (WB) executive directors have appointed Ajay Banga, an Indian-born US business executive, as its group president for a five-year term.

He will take over the WB Group’s responsibility from David Malpass on June 02.

Mr Banga is the Vice Chairman of General Atlantic, a global growth equity investor, and was the President and CEO of Mastercard, a global financial organisation.

He is also the chairman of the Netherlands-based investment holding company Exor and chairman of the public-private Partnership for Central America with US Vice President Kamala Harris.

He was nominated to the position of the WB group president by the Biden administration in February 2023.

Ajay Banga (64) was born in a Sikh family in Khadki Cantonment of Pune under Maharashtra, India, where his father, an army officer, was posted. His family was originally from Jalandhar, Punjab. He became a US citizen in 2007.

Mr Banga, a graduate in economics, started his career as a management trainee with Nestlé in 1981, and spent 13 years in sales, marketing, and general management.

He later joined PepsiCo and was involved in launching its international fast food franchises, including Pizza Hut and KFC, in India.

Mr Banga served as the Chairman of International Chamber of Commerce from 2020-2022. He became an advisor to General Atlantic’s climate-focused fund, BeyondNetZero, at its inception in 2021.

The WB executive directors followed the selection process, agreed upon by its shareholders in 2011. The process included an open, merit-based, and transparent nomination, where any national of the bank’s memberships could be proposed by any executive director or governor through an executive director.

It was followed with due diligence and a comprehensive interview of Mr. Banga by the WB executive directors.

The WB group president is also the board chair of the executive directors of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD).

He is also the ex-officio chair of the board of directors of the International Development Association (IDA), International Finance Corporation (IFC), Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and administrative council of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).

kabirhumayan10@gmail.com