Ajay Banga is the chief executive officer of Mastercard and a member of its board of directors. He will become executive chairman of the board of directors on January 1, 2021.

Ajay is a co-founder of The Cyber Readiness Institute, first vice chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce and a trustee of the United States Council for International Business. Ajay is a founding trustee of the U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum, a member of the U.S.-India CEO Forum and is Chairman Emeritus of the American India Foundation. He served as a member of President Obama’s Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity. He is a past member of the U.S. President’s Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations.

He was awarded the Padma Shri Award by the President of India in 2016, the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 2019 and the Business Council for International Understanding’s Global Leadership Award. He is a fellow of the Foreign Policy Association and was awarded the Foreign Policy Association Medal in 2012.

Ajay is a member of the board of overseers of the Weill Cornell Medical College. In addition, Ajay serves as a director of Dow Inc. and is a member of its compensation and governance committees.

Prior to Mastercard, Ajay served as 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.

Ajay 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.