MasterCard names ‘all-Indian’ Ajay Banga as CEO

MasterCard Inc yesterday named its chief operating officer, Ajay Banga, as chief executive officer in the culmination of a plan laid 10 months ago to ensure its leadership succession. The entirely Indian-educated financial pundit was born in Pune, and educated in Delhi and at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

Banga, 50, will take charge in July, replacing retiring chief executive Robert Selander. He joined MasterCard in August from Citigroup Inc as president and chief operating officer in a hire widely seen as part of a succession plan for the credit card network.

Selander will remain as MasterCard's executive vice chairman and retain his seat on the company's board until he retires at the end of the year, the company said. Banga has also joined the board, effective immediately.

Banga spent 13 years at Citigroup, including a stint as the chairman and chief executive of its international global consumer group, with responsibility for the company's brand and marketing work.

When MasterCard hired him last year, he was chief executive officer of Citi Asia Pacific, responsible for all of the company's business lines in the region. He led a major reorganisation of Citigroup's Asian operations in 2008 that gave regional heads increased authority across the bank's sprawling product lines.

Banga received about $10 million in compensation in 2008 from Citigroup, making him one of the firm's highest paid executives. Prior to joining the company in 1996, he worked at Nestle and PepsiCo.