Feb 24, 2023:
US President Joe Biden on February 23 announced that United States is nominating former Mastercard chief executive Ajay Banga to lead the World Bank, after its current chief David Malpass announced plans to step down early.
A statement issued by the White House read, “President Biden announced that the United States is nominating Ajay Banga, a business leader with extensive experience leading successful organizations in developing countries and forging public-private partnerships to address financial inclusion and climate change, to be President of the World Bank.”
According to a report by news agency AFP, the development lender has just started accepting candidate nominations in a process set to run until March 29, with the bank saying women candidates would be strongly encouraged.
The president of the World Bank is typically American, while the head of the International Monetary Fund is customarily European.
63-year-old Ajay Banga is Indian-American and currently serving as vice chairman at equity firm General Atlantic.
He is Honorary Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce, serving as Chairman from 2020-2022. He is also Chairman of Exor and Independent Director at Temasek.
He was previously chief executive officer at Mastercard.
Biden, in a statement, 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.”
“He also has critical experience mobilizing public-private resources to tackle the most urgent challenges of our time, including climate change. Raised in India, Ajay has a unique perspective on the opportunities and challenges facing developing countries and how the World Bank can deliver on its ambitious agenda to reduce poverty and expand prosperity,” Biden added.
