World Bank confirms Ajay Banga, former CEO of Mastercard, as its president

The World Bank (WB) elected this Wednesday the American of Indian origin Ajay Banga as the fourteenth president in its history.

The executive directors of the World Bank approved the appointment of bangathe only candidate there was and who was presented by the Government of Joe Biden to replace David Malpass.

Banga will occupy the position for a period of five years from June 2, 2023. On February 23, the nomination of the Indian-American executive was made public, until now vice president of the General Atlantic fund and who also served as executive president of Mastercard.

Through a statement, Biden congratulated Banga and said that “will be a transformational leader who will bring knowledge, experience and innovation to the position of president of the World Bank”.

“Along with World Bank leadership and shareholders, you will help steer the institution as it evolves and expands to address global challenges that directly affect its core mission of poverty reduction, including climate change.“, he claimed.

Biden noted that he looks forward to working with Banga in his new role and “support their efforts to transform the World Bank, which remains one of humanity’s most critical institutions in reducing poverty and expanding prosperity around the world”.

Banga’s choice, the WB said in a statement, was made based on the process agreed upon by shareholders in 2011 and included “an open, merit-based and transparent nomination” where any member of the WB could be proposed and also included “a thorough due diligence and thorough interview” to the candidate.

Banga was a vice president at General Atlantic and was previously the chairman and chief executive officer of Mastercard. Under his leadership, this company launched the Center for Inclusive Growth, which promotes equitable and sustainable economic growth and financial inclusion around the world.

He was an honorary president of the International Chamber of Commerce, serving as its president from 2020 to 2022. He became an advisor to General Atlantic’s climate-focused fund, BeyondNetZero, at its inception in 2021.

Banga served as co-chair of the Association for Central America, a coalition of private organizations that works to promote economic opportunity among underserved populations in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. She previously served on the boards of the American Red Cross, Kraft Foods and Dow Inc.

He is co-founder of The Cyber ​​Readiness Institute and was vice president of the Economic Club of New York. He received the Foreign Policy Association Medal in 2012, the Padma Shri Award from the President of India in 2016, the Ellis Island Medal of Honor and the Business Council for International Understanding Global Leadership Award in 2019, and the Distinguished Friends of Singapore Public Service. Star in 2021.

The until now head of the WB, David Malpass, proposed by the then Republican president Donald Trump (2017-2021), informed the Executive Board of the organization on February 15 of his intention to leave office on June 30 “to pursue new challenges”.

Malpass’s figure was called into question after he repeatedly avoided answering in a panel discussion last September whether he recognized the scientific consensus that humans who burned fossil fuels were “heating up the planet rapidly and dangerously”.

Source: EFE