Ajay Banga Age, Wife, Family, Biography & More

Some Lesser Known Facts About Ajay Banga

• Ajay Banga is an Indian-American business executive, who has worked in important positions with global companies like Mastercard, PepsiCo, General Atlantic, and more. He gained popularity after Joe Biden, the US President, recommended Ajay’s name as the American candidate for the Presidency of the World Bank (WB).

• In 1981, after completing his formal education, Ajay Banga started working in New Delhi with Nestlé India. There, after receiving promotions, he held several positions in the marketing and general management departments.

• Ajay Banga was later transferred to the Kolkata branch of Nestlé, where he assumed the position of branch manager.

• Having worked with Nestlé for thirteen years, he resigned from the company and joined PepsiCo and began working as director of marketing for PepsiCo Restaurants in India. He joined the company at a time when India was opening its economy under economic liberalisation.

• He resigned from PepsiCo in 1996 and joined Citigroup as its Asia-Pacific region’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

• Later, he assumed important posts at various senior leadership and executive committees of Citigroup.

• Thereafter, Ajay Banga shifted to the United States of America (USA).

• He assumed the position of President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Mastercard Inc. in August 2009.

• Ajay Banga became the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Mastercard Inc. after receiving a promotion on 1 July 2010. After becoming the CEO, he made plans that not only saved employment of more than 19k Mastercard Inc. employees during the COVID-19 pandemic but also led to 500 million non-bank users availing services of Mastercard at a global level.
  

  Ajay Banga’s photo taken while he was giving a press conference

• In 2015, he served as a member of the Barack Obama-established President’s Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations.

• Later, he worked with the US government on its Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity as a member.

• For disseminating free cyber awareness information, Ajay co-founded The Cyber Readiness Institute in 2017.

• In the same year, Ajay Banga was featured in Fortune magazine as the 6th most influential Business Person of the year.

• In 2017, the Harvard Business Review ranked him 40th in its list of the best-performing CEOs in the world.

• Thereafter, he was appointed as chairman of the U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC), where he represented more than 300 global companies.
  

  A photo of Ajay taken during his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi

• Ajay Banga resigned from his post as the CEO of Mastercard in 2021.

• He became a member of the General Atlantic’s BeyondNetZero in July 2021.

• Ajay Banga has been an active participant in FinTech conferences.

• Thereafter, the New York Hall of Science appointed him as vice-chairman of its board of trustees.

• Later, Exor, a Norway-based company, appointed him as its chairman.

• At General Atlantic, which is a US-based private equity company, Ajay Banga assumed the position of vice president in January 2022.

• Ajay Banga has worked with Vice President Kamala Harris as the chairman of Partnership for Central America, a US government-established committee.

• He has also worked as a board member with organisations like Craft Foods, Dow Ink, and the American Red Cross.

• Ajay became the first Indian-American to be selected as a candidate of the United States for the presidency of the World Bank Group on 24 February 2023. Later, India supported his candidature to the WB. In an interview, while talking about it, President Joe Biden said,
  

  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.”

• Ajay Banga is fond of playing golf.

• In his leisure time, he likes to listen to devotional songs.

• Ajay Banga drinks liquor occasionally. ^[7]The New York Times

• Ajay Banga attended the 2023 G20 summit in New Delhi, where he engaged in discussions regarding India’s efforts to enhance regional connectivity, foster regional prosperity, and drive broader development. He also exchanged insights on the challenges faced by the Global South.
  

  Ajay Banga with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 2023 G20 Summit