Ajay Banga
President and Chief Executive Officer, Mastercard
Ajay Banga is president and chief executive officer of Mastercard and a member of its board of directors.
Mr. Banga is a member of President Obama’s Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations and the Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity. He sits on the board of directors of the U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC), where he served as its longest-tenured chairman. Mr. Banga is a member of the U.S.-India CEO Forum and co-chairs the board of directors of the American India Foundation.
He was awarded the Padma Shri Award by the President of India in 2016. He is a fellow of the Foreign Policy Association and was awarded the Foreign Policy Association Medal in 2012.
Mr. Banga serves on the Executive Committee of the Business Roundtable. He is chairman of the Financial Services Roundtable, as well as vice chairman of the Business Council. He is a member of the International Business Council of the World Economic Forum, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Economic Club of New York.
He serves on the board of overseers of the Weill Cornell Medical College and on the board of governors of the American Red Cross and the Partnership for New York City.
Mr. Banga serves on the board of directors of the Peterson Institute for International Economics and is also a member of the International Advisory Board of the Moscow School of Management SKOLKOVO.
He has served on the board of governors of the New York City Ballet and is a past director of Kraft Foods. He has also served on the board of trustees of the Asia Society, the New York Hall of Science and the National Urban League.
Prior to Mastercard, Mr. Banga was chief executive officer of Citigroup Asia Pacific. During his career at Citigroup, he held a variety of senior management roles in the United States, Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Africa. He also oversaw the company’s efforts in microfinance.
Mr. Banga began his career at Nestlé, India, where for 13 years he worked on assignments spanning sales, marketing and general management. He also spent two years with PepsiCo, where he was instrumental in launching its fast food franchises in India as the economy liberalized.
He is a graduate of Delhi University and the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad
