Tuesday, 12 November 2024
Tan Su Shan to succeed Piyush Gupta as CEO
DBS announced today that the board had appointed Tan Su Shan as deputy CEO, in addition to her present role as group head of institutional banking. She will succeed Piyush Gupta as CEO when he retires at the next annual general meeting on 28 March 2025.
Tan, 56, brings solid credentials to her new role, having had more than 35 years of experience in consumer banking, wealth management and institutional banking. Besides Singapore, she has worked in major financial centres such as Hong Kong, Tokyo and London.
Tan joined DBS in 2010 and spent the first three years building the foundations of the wealth management business. She subsequently spent almost equal lengths of time managing the consumer banking/wealth management and the institutional banking businesses, which account for 90% of DBS’ income. Tan led the day-to-day efforts to operationalise the bank’s digitalisation strategy across the businesses she ran. She has been president commissioner of DBS Indonesia since 2014.
Outside DBS, Tan has served on several boards in government, education and women’s leadership and was a nominated member of Parliament in 2012-14. A graduate of Oxford University, she has attended leadership programmes at Harvard and Stanford.
Her appointment is the culmination of a decade-long succession process. A strong field of internal candidates was put through an extended development programme to develop their experience, exposure and skills for the role. They were also benchmarked against potential external candidates. Following the evaluation, Tan was deemed the strongest of all the candidates.
Peter Seah, chairman of DBS said: “Under Piyush’s leadership, DBS has been transformed into a high-performing, high-returns institution recognised simultaneously for stability and innovation. Su Shan’s strategic orientation, track record in building businesses, familiarity with technology, leadership ability as well as strong stakeholder management and communication skills make her the ideal successor. Importantly for us, she also embodies the DBS culture. I am pleased that a Singaporean with global experience has emerged as the best candidate to lead an iconic Singapore institution and build on the legacy that Piyush will leave us.”
Gupta said: “Su Shan has worked closely with me for more than a decade to bring the bank to where it is today. She was instrumental in building the wealth management, consumer banking and institutional banking businesses since she joined, and took personal ownership to operationalise our digitalisation strategy. With her appointment, we can be assured that the trajectory of DBS’ transformation will continue well into the future.”
Tan said: “I am deeply honoured to have been selected to succeed Piyush. Leading the continued transformation of DBS is a tremendous privilege and responsibility. Some months after Piyush joined as CEO, he called to persuade me to join DBS. I responded to that call and quit the foreign bank I was working at the next day. Joining DBS felt like a homecoming – it is the bank I grew up with, and also the company where I first interned. The last 14 years have been a tremendous ride. I am proud of the founding mission of DBS – financing Singapore’s growth – and will continue to ensure that it is a brand that stands tall not just in Asia but also the world stage.”
Watch The Asian Banker's interview with Tan Su Shan: In conversation with DBS’ Tan Su Shan on recharging global finance | The Asian Banker
Re-disseminated by The Asian Banker
