Ajaypal Singh Banga

Ajaypal Singh Banga
Born 1960 (age 57–58)
Pune, India
Residence Purchase, New York, U.S.
Nationality Indian
Alma mater IIM Ahmedabad (MBA)
Delhi University (BA)
Occupation CEO and President, MasterCard[1]
Predecessor Robert Selander

Ajaypal "Ajay" Singh Banga (born 1960) is an Indian Sikh American business executive. He is the current president and chief executive officer of MasterCard.[1][2] MasterCard announced on April 12, 2010 that Banga, previously MasterCard's president and chief operating officer, had been named by the Board of Directors to serve as the company’s president and chief executive officer, effective July 1, 2010. The company also announced that Banga would become a member of the Board of Directors, effective immediately.

Banga, 50, succeeded Robert W. Selander, who had been MasterCard's CEO since March 1997.[2]

In February 2015, President Barack Obama appointed Banga to serve as a Member of the President's Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations.[3]

Presently, he is also the chairman of the U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC) representing more than three hundred of the largest international companies investing in India. He is also a member of the board of directors of the Dow Chemical Company; member of the Council on Foreign Relations; and member of International Business Council of the World Economic Forum.[4]

The Government of India awarded him the civilian honour of the Padma Shri in 2016.[5]

Early life

Born into a Saini[6] Sikh family in Khadki, Pune, Maharashtra in India where his father, an army officer, was posted. The family's origin is from Jalandhar in Punjab. His father is retired lieutenant-general Harbhajan Singh Banga who is a decorated army general of Indian Army. He is also the younger brother of another well-known CEO M. S. Banga.

Banga grew up and schooled across India, successively in Secunderabad, Jalandhar, Delhi, Hyderabad and in Shimla, where he finished his schooling.[7]

Education

His primary education was from the prestigious Hyderabad Public School in Begumpet. Banga went on to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree in Economics from St. Stephen's College, Delhi University and MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.[8] [9]

Career

Beginning his business career with Nestlé in 1981, Banga spent the next 13 years working in jobs spanning sales, marketing, and general management. He later joined PepsiCo and was involved in the launch of its international fast food franchises in India as the economy liberalized.

Banga was vice chairman of the board of trustees of the New York Hall of Science and a board member of the National Urban League. He was formerly a business sponsor of Citi's African heritage network – NYC.

Banga has a keen interest in social development issues, and over the period from 2005 to mid-2009, he spearheaded Citi's strategy in the microfinance sector across the world.[2]

Banga is a regular speaker at various FinTech conferences and various leadership conferences. He also appeared on the Mad Money show hosted by Jim Cramer on Thursday, 6 Nov 2014[10]

Banga, was the keynote speaker at the NYU Stern 2014 Graduate Convocation on May 22, 2014, where he spoke about the importance of diversity in driving innovation and leadership.[11] He also was a keynote speaker for his alma mater, the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, during the Class of 2015's convocation.[12]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Reshmanth (April 6, 2015). "These CEOs of Indian Origin will make you feel proud". South Report. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 "About Mastercard - Smart & Secure Payment Solutions". www.mastercard.com.
  3. ↑ "President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts". 5 February 2015.
  4. ↑ "{title}". Archived from the original on 2015-02-16. Retrieved 2015-02-16.
  5. ↑ "Padma Awards 2016". Press Information Bureau, Government of India. 2016. Retrieved February 2, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Born into a Saini Sikh family and attending schools and academic institutions in India , Banga is clearly not a typical CEO of a global company, neither in his appearance nor in his experience", Managing Diversity : Toward a Globally Inclusive Workplace, pp 232, Michalle E. Mor Barak - University of Southern California, USA, Thousand Oaks : SAGE Publications, Inc, 2016
  7. ↑ "Delhi whiz Ajay Banga becomes MasterCard CEO - Times of India".
  8. ↑ "About Mastercard - Smart & Secure Payment Solutions". www.mastercard.com.
  9. ↑ http://expressbuzz.com/topic/iim-alumnus-ajay-banga-is-new-ceo-of-mastercard/164795.html
  10. ↑ Allen, Karma (6 November 2014). "Cramer, MasterCard CEO talk radical banking moves".
  11. ↑ "Press Release - Ajay Banga, President & CEO of MasterCard, to Keynote 2014 Graduate Convocation - NYU Stern". www.stern.nyu.edu.
  12. ↑ "MasterCard CEO Ajay Banga's six lessons on leadership—as told to the IIM-A class of 2015 — Quartz". qz.com.
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