Ajay Banga, vice chairman of global growth equity firm General Atlantic since December 2021, has received approval to serve as the 14th president of the World Bank for a five-year term beginning June 2.
He will begin his five-year term on June 2, and will work with the board of executive directors on the World Bank Group Evolution process and other initiatives aimed at addressing challenges that developing countries face, the bank said Wednesday.
Banga previously served as president and CEO of Mastercard, honorary chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce and co-chair of the Partnership for Central America. He is a former vice chair of the Economic Club of New York and a co-founder of the Cyber Readiness Institute.
The World Bank’s executive directors confirmed the appointment more than two months after President Joe Biden nominated Banga to lead the Washington, D.C.-based financial institution.
President Biden called Banga a transformative leader who will bring experience, innovation and expertise to the role.
“And together with World Bank leadership and shareholders, he 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,” Biden said in a statement released Wednesday.
