Who Is Ajay Banga, The Indian-Origin Member In Trump's Gaza 'Board of Peace'?

New Delhi: In US President Donald Trump's recently revealed list of people appointed to the ‘Board of Peace’ that will be overseeing phase two of his 20-Point Peace Plan to end the conflict in Gaza, an Indian-origin member, Ajay Banga, the President of the World Bank Group, has received the limelight in India.

Banga is among several other members appointed to the peace body, which includes prominent personalities like US State Secretary Marco Rubio, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff, and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner. While he sets off on his new additional assignment, let us learn who Banga is.

Who Is Ajay Banga?

Ajay Banga, the current president of the World Bank, is the first person of South Asian descent to be appointed to this post. He was nominated to his post in February 2023, by former US President Joe Biden and was confirmed by the World Bank’s Board of Governors on May 3, 2023. He succeeded David Malpass, an economist and former US Treasury official who was appointed during the first Trump administration.

“Ajay Banga will be a transformative leader,” former President Biden said, adding that Banga will “bring expertise, experience, and innovation to the position of the World Bank president.” Former US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen had also supported his nomination publicly.

Banga had earlier served as the president and CEO of Mastercard Inc and vice chairman of General Atlantic, a private equity firm. He has domain expertise across various sectors like finance, banking, and technology and his leadership in working towards financial inclusion, digital transformation, and sustainable development. According to Investopedia, his primary role as the head of the World Bank is to guide the international body towards growth and development worldwide, which would in turn lead to poverty alleviation and climate change.

Born on November 10, 1959, to a Sikh family in Maharashtra's Khadki, Banga's father was an Indian Army officer. In 1981, Banga completed his graduation with Honors in Economics from Delhi's St. Stephen’s College and then went on to attain a post graduate degree in Management at the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad.

His Professional Journey

According to Investopedia, Banga started off his career as an intern at Nestle in India, and held several positions in the consumer brand over the next 13 years. Following this, he joined PepsiCo i 1994 and then in 1996, he moved to Citigroup's global consumer banking division, where he rose up to be the CEO of Citigroup Asia Pacific in 2008.

In 2009, he joined Mastercard, and became its CEO in July 2010. In 2020, he was elected the chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), and then in 2022, he joined General Atlantic.

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