DBS announced Wednesday (Aug 7) that the board has 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 Mar 28, 2025.
Tan, 56, has 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.
DBS chairman Peter Seah said at a media briefing on Wednesday: “In 2021, Piyush said he wanted to retire when he turns 65. The board then decided that we really had to move the pace up and go through a selection process of who we should appoint to lead the team.”
Tan “stood out” among the many top names considered for the role, he added. “The board decision to appoint Su Shan was unanimous.”
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Seah noted that Tan is the first home-grown staff member hired from internally to take the helm at DBS.
Piyush said: “Even though I’ve been the face of DBS, in many ways, banking is a team sport.
“We will play tag team for the next few months, so that she gets every opportunity to try out and get comfortable with all the moving parts to run a bank.”
On succeeding Gupta, who has helmed DBS for nearly 15 years, Tan noted that she had “big shoes to fill”.
“But, guess what? Our shoes are different; we wear different kinds of shoes. Our styles may be different, but some things may not change going forward,” she said.
Tan noted four points that she will focus on: culture, customers, collaboration, continuity.
While macroeconomic conditions and technology will change, she expects that the bank’s priorities – to be agile, to adapt and to transform – will not change. She did not name specific targets, but said she will announce them when ready.
