Ajay Banga Wiki, Age, Wife, Family, Biography & More

Ajay Banga is an Indian-born American business executive, who has held many high-ranking posts with several global companies. He made headlines on 24 February 2023 when US President Joe Biden nominated him as a candidate for the Presidency of the World Bank (WB).

Wiki/Biography

Ajaypal Singh Banga was born on Tuesday, 10 November 1959 (age 63 years; as of 2022) in Khadki Cantonment, Pune, Maharashtra, India. ^[1]The News Minute His zodiac sign is Scorpio. After completing his schooling from St. Edward’s School in Shimla and Hyderabad Public School in Hyderabad, in 1976, he shifted to Delhi, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in arts with honours in economics from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University. Later, he enrolled in the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA), where he earned a master’s degree in business administration. ^[2]General Atlantic He was the topper of his class at IIM.

Physical Appearance

Height (approx.): 5′ 10″

Hair Colour: Salt and Pepper

Eye Colour: Light Brown

Family

Parents & Siblings

His father, Harbhajan Singh Banga, was a retired lieutenant general of the Indian Army. He passed away on 22 December 2011.

His mother’s name is Jaswant Banga. His brother, Manvinder Singh Banga (aka Vindi), is a business executive. He has a sister named Deepa.

Wife & Children

His wife, Ritu Banga, is the co-founder of Zoomdojo, a consulting firm.

His daughter, Aditi Banga, is the Head of Creator Monetization & Innovation Partnerships at Instagram and is a Harvard University graduate. His daughter, Jojo Banga, is also a Harvard University graduate.

Relationships/Affairs

Ajay Banga dated Ritu Banga for a brief time before getting married. They met while pursuing an MBA at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Ahmedabad.

Religion

Ajay Banga follows Sikhism. ^[3]The New York Times

Caste

Ajay Banga was born into a Punjabi Sikh family belonging to the Saini caste, which falls under the Other Backward Class (OBC) category. ^[4]The Financial Express

Address

He resides at 200 62nd Street, New York, NY 10021, the United States of America (USA).

Signature/Autograph

Career

Ajay Banga started his career as a business executive in 1981 after he joined Nestlé India in New Delhi. In the following years, he received several promotions and worked in different marketing and general management departments. Later, he was sent to Kolkata, where he worked with the company as a branch manager. After working with Nestlé India for thirteen years, Ajay Banga left the company and joined PepsiCo in Delhi. He joined PepsiCo when India was in the process of economic liberalisation. There, he worked as director of marketing for PepsiCo Restaurants in India. He worked with PepsiCo for two years. In 1996, he joined Citigroup and was later appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Asia-Pacific region. Ajay Banga held several important positions at Citigroup’s senior leadership and executive committees. Later, he moved to the United States. In August 2009, he joined Mastercard Inc. in the United States of America as its President and Chief Operating Officer (COO). On 1 July 2010, he received a promotion and became the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Mastercard Inc. As a CEO, he was accredited with devising a strategy that saved the jobs of more than 19,000 employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. He also made policies that resulted in more than 500 million global non-banking customers using the services of Mastercard. He worked with Mastercard till 2021.

The former President of the United States, Barack Obama, appointed him as a member of the President’s Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations in 2015. Thereafter, he served as a member of the Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity, established by the U. S. government. In 2017, he co-founded The Cyber Readiness Institute. Later, he represented more than 300 multinational companies on the U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC) as its chairman.

In July 2021, Banga was appointed to BeyondNetZero, established by the General Atlantic, as a member of its advisory board. Ajay has regularly attended the conferences held by FinTech. Later, he was appointed to the New York Hall of Science’s board of trustees as its vice chairman. On 1 January 2022, he joined the American-based private equity firm General Atlantic as its vice president. He has also worked as the chairman of Exor, a company from the Netherlands. Later, the United States government appointed him as the chairman of the Partnership for Central America. There, he worked with Vice President Kamala Harris. On 24 February 2023, President Joe Biden recommended Ajay Banga’s name for the position of President of the World Bank Group. Ajay has also worked with Craft Foods, Dow Ink, and the American Red Cross as a member of the board. Ajay became the first Indian-American to be recommended to the World Bank for its Presidency. In an interview, while talking about it, 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.”

His nomination by the United States government was supported by India.

Awards, Honours

• Ajay Banga received the Foreign Policy Association Medal in 2012.

• In 2016, the Government of India awarded him India’s fourth-highest civilian award, the Padma Shri.
  

  A photo of Ajay Banga receiving the Padma Shri from President Pranab Mukherjee

• In 2019, he received the Global Indian of the Year title from the Economic Times Awards for Corporate Excellence.

• The Singapore government awarded him the Distinguished Friends of Singapore Public Service Star in 2021.

• Business Council for International Understanding awarded him the Leadership Award.
  

  Ajay Banga with his Leadership Award

• The Ellis Island Honors Society (EIHS) presented him Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

Income

Ajay Banga’s income as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Mastercard was Rs 5.2 million per day. ^[5]WION

Net Worth

Some sources claim that his net worth is estimated to be around $143 million, while some sources claim that his net worth is approximately $1.2 billion. According to CNBC and WION, as of 2021, his net worth is $206 million (Rs 17 billion). ^[6]WION

Favourites

• Basketball Team: New York Mets

• Singer: Lady Gaga, Elvis Presley

• Song: Paparazzi by Lady Gaga

Facts/Trivia

• Ajay Banga likes to play golf.

• Ajay Banga likes to listen to devotional songs.

• In 2017, Ajay Banga was ranked the 6th most influential Business Person of the year by Fortune.

• In the same year, Ajay Banga was ranked 40th on the Harvard Business Review’s best-performing CEOs in the world list.

• Ajay Banga occasionally consumes alcoholic beverages. ^[7]The New York Times

• He was one of the prominent figures who attended the 2023 G20 summit which was held in New Delhi. Banga was engaged in discussions that centred around India’s efforts to enhance regional connectivity, foster prosperity within the region, and drive broader development agendas. Furthermore, he talked about the challenges faced by countries in the Global South and offered valuable insights.
  

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