Washington — Former Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga was confirmed Wednesday to serve as the 14th president of the World Bank and is set to begin his five-year term at the institution’s helm next month.
Banga was nominated to the role by President Joe Biden in February and will succeed David Malpass as president of the World Bank. Malpass was tapped for the role by former President Donald Trump and announced earlier this year he planned to step down roughly one year early.
Mr. Biden extended congratulations to Banga for his “resounding approval” by the World Bank’s board of governors and predicted he would be a “transformative leader.”
“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,” the president said. “Ajay will also be integral in bringing together the public and private sectors, alongside philanthropies, to usher in the fundamental changes in development finance that this moment requires.”
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Banga would play a “critical role” in the World Bank’s efforts to address global challenges like climate change and praised his record of work across the public and private sectors.
“Ajay understands that the challenges we face — from combatting climate change, pandemics, and fragility to eliminating extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity — are deeply intertwined,” Yellen said in a statement. “He has effectively built a broad global coalition around his vision for the Bank over the course of his candidacy.”
The leader of the World Bank has been an American citizen since its founding after World War II, and the candidate put forth by the U.S. is traditionally chosen to helm the bank.
Banga, who was raised in India, will join the World Bank from the private equity firm General Atlantic, where he serves as vice chairman. He worked for more than a decade at Mastercard, as its president and chief executive, and then as its executive chairman. Banga also was chief executive officer of Citigroup’s Asia-Pacific region and worked with Nestle in India for 13 years. He has served on the boards of the American Red Cross, Kraft Foods and Dow Inc.
Banga’s selection to replace Malpass comes after the latter came under criticism after he declined to say in September during a New York Times event whether he believed the burning of fossil fuels is causing the planet to warm. Malpass instead declared “I’m not a scientist,” a comment that sparked claims he was a climate-change denier.
The World Bank leader sought to clarify his stance, telling CNN International he is “not a denier” and “it’s clear” greenhouse gas emissions are coming from manmade sources, including fossil fuels.”
“We’re working hard to change that,” Malpass said.
Washington — President Biden will nominate Ajay Banga, the former president and CEO of Mastercard, to serve as president of the World Bank, the White House announced Thursday.
Banga is currently the vice chairman of General Atlantic, a private equity firm, and would succeed David Malpass as head of the World Bank. Malpass was tapped for the post by former President Donald Trump and announced this month his plan to step down on June 30, four years into a five-year term.
The World Bank president has been an American citizen since its founding after World War II, and the U.S. candidate is traditionally chosen to head the bank. The nominee must be confirmed by the World Bank’s executive board.
“Ajay is uniquely equipped to lead the World Bank at this critical moment in history,” Mr. Biden said in a statement announcing the nomination. “He has spent more than three decades building and managing successful, global companies that create jobs and bring investment to developing economies, and guiding organizations through periods of fundamental change.”
The president said that across Banga’s three decades of business experience, he has a “proven track record” of managing large organizations and working alongside leaders worldwide, and Mr. Biden highlighted his experience tapping into public-private resources to tackle pressing issues, including climate change.
“Raised in India, Ajay has a unique perspective on the opportunities and challenges facing developing countries and how the World Bank can deliver on its ambitious agenda to reduce poverty and expand prosperity,” Mr. Biden said.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen applauded Banga’s nomination, saying in a statement that his leadership and management skills, as well as experience, will help the World Bank evolve to “meet global challenges like climate change.”
“While the World Bank will continue to play a key role in improving the lives of people around the globe, it can’t do it alone,” Yellen said. “Mr. Banga’s track record of forging partnerships between the public sector, private sector and non-profits uniquely equips him to help mobilize the private capital and press for the reforms needed to meet our shared ambitions.”
The change at the top of the World Bank comes after Malpass faced calls for his ouster after he declined to say in September during a New York Times event whether he believed the burning of fossil fuels is causing the planet to warm, and instead declared “I’m not a scientist.”
The comment sparked claims he was a climate-change denier, and Malpass sought to clarify his stance, telling CNN International he is “not a denier” and “it’s clear” greenhouse gas emissions are coming from manmade sources, including fossil fuels.”
“We’re working hard to change that,” he said.
In response to Malpass’s comments on climate change, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters in late September the Biden administration disagreed with them.
“We expect the World Bank to be a global leader of climate ambition and mobilization as well, of significantly more climate finance for developing countries, as is the business of the World Bank,” she said.
Before joining General Atlantic, Banga worked for more than a decade as Mastercard, serving as its president and chief executive, and then the company’s executive chairman. He also was chief executive officer of Citigroup’s Asia-Pacific region and worked with Nestle in India for 13 years. He has served on the boards of the American Red Cross, Kraft Foods and Dow Inc.
Lyft is preparing to lay off hundreds of employees just days after new CEO David Risher took the helm of the ride-hailing service. It’s the latest in a series of layoffs that have rocked the once high-flying technology industry.
In a blog post Friday, Risher told employees the company would “significantly reduce” the workforce as part of restructuring. Risher, a former Amazon executive, said the cuts were aimed at making Lyft a “faster, flatter company where everyone is closer to our riders and drivers.”
“I own this decision, and understand that it comes at an enormous cost,” Risher continued. “We’re not just talking about team members; we’re talking about relationships with people who’ve worked (and played) together, sometimes for years.” The note came at end of his first week as Lyft’s CEO.
Employees will find out if they’re keeping their jobs by Thursday, April 27, Risher said. Those laid off will get at least 10 weeks’ severance pay and health insurance coverage through the end of October, according to the post.
The Wall Street Journal reported that at least 1,200 positions, or more than 30% of Lyft’s staff, would be cut, citing unnamed sources. These include sofware engineers, product managers and other white-collar workers across the U.S., since Lyft doesn’t count its drivers as employees.
A Lyft spokesperson declined to confirm the size of the cuts.
“David has made clear to the company that his focus is on creating a great and affordable experience for riders and improving drivers’ earnings,” the spokesperson said in a statement to Us.Mistertruth. “To do so requires that we reduce our costs and structure our company so that our leaders are closer to riders and drivers.”
Latest cuts
The planned layoffs are the second round of cuts for Lyft in the current downturn, after the company shed 700 jobs, or about 13% of its workforce, in November.
Risher was a Lyft board member before being recruited to replace co-founders Logan Green and John Zimmer, who stepped down from leadesrhip roles earlier this month. In an interview with The Associated Press shortly after his hiring was announced, Risher cited expense control as one of his top priorities.
By ensuring Lyft is “super efficient,” Risher said the company would be in a better position to lower its fares to lure back passengers who had shifted to using Uber more frequently because that service was offering lower prices for the same trips.
It was a theme Risher emphasized again in his Friday email explaining why he decided to slash the payroll, which doesn’t include Lyft’s drivers — a group that is classified as independent contractors.
“We need to bring our costs down to deliver affordable rides, compelling earnings for drivers, and profitable growth,” Risher wrote.
Losing ground to Uber
Lyft has been struggling to turn a profit ever since the pandemic, when fewer customers were traveling but more were ordering items online. Unlike competitor Uber, Lyft never expanded beyond ride-hailing into deliveries, and it restricted its business to North America.
During the past year, it has become even clearer that consumers fell out of the Lyft habit as Uber’s ridership bounced back to pre-pandemic levels and Lyft’s losses mounted, causing its stock to plunge by 68%.
Lyft’s stock rose 6% on Friday to about $10.44 after the layoffs were announced.
Recurring waves of layoffs are emerging as a new phenomenon in the tech industry, reversing more than a decade of mostly unbridled growth.
Both Facebook owner Meta Platforms and e-commerce giant Amazon have gone through two rounds of major layoffs during the past year. Pandemic-fueled demand for digital services and products resulted in hiring sprees that they and other tech companies began to regret as the COVID-19 threat waned and growth tapered off.