DBS has announced the appointment of Tan Su Shan as Deputy CEO, in addition to her role as Group Head of Institutional Banking.
She is set to succeed Piyush Gupta as CEO upon his retirement at the next annual general meeting on 28 March 2025, becoming the first female CEO in the bank’s history.
Tan, 56, brings over 35 years of experience in consumer banking, wealth management, and institutional banking.
Her career has spanned major financial centers including Hong Kong, Tokyo, and London.
Since joining DBS in 2010, Tan has been instrumental in building the Wealth Management business and managing both Consumer Banking/Wealth Management and Institutional Banking, which together account for 90% of DBS’ income.
She has also led the bank’s digitalisation strategy and has been the President Commissioner of DBS Indonesia since 2014.
Tan’s extensive experience extends beyond DBS. She started her career with ING Baring Securities in institutional equity and derivative sales before moving to Citi in 2005 as the regional head for Singapore, Malaysia, and Brunei.
From 1997 to 2005, and from 2008 to 2010, Tan was with Morgan Stanley, first as an executive director and later as head of private wealth management.
Outside of DBS, she has served as a nominated member of parliament between 2012 and 2014, and has served on several boards in government, education, and women’s leadership.
She also sits on the advisory board of Weybourne Holdings, Dyson’s family office.
An Oxford University graduate with a master’s degree in politics, philosophy, and economics, Tan’s first internship as a university student was at DBS.
The appointment follows a decade-long succession process. Internal candidates were put through an extensive development program and benchmarked against potential external candidates.
Tan emerged as the strongest candidate.
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 added,
“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.”
