Singapore-based DBS Group Holdings is planning a shake-up in its management.
Chief Executive Officer Piyush Gupta, who has led the bank for 14 years, will step down at the annual general meeting on March 28, 2025. He will be succeeded by Tan Soo Shan, according to a statement released by the bank on Wednesday. The statement added that Tan has been appointed deputy CEO, a new role that is in addition to his current role as group head of institutional banking.
“Mr Tan, 56, brings a proven track record of more than 35 years of experience in consumer banking, wealth management and institutional banking to his new role. In addition to Singapore, he has worked in major financial centres such as Hong Kong, Tokyo and London,” the bank said.
The announcement put an end to years of speculation over who would succeed Gupta, who was credited with expanding the bank's presence and boosting the financial institution's profits.
DBS is the largest bank in Singapore and the largest bank in Southeast Asia by assets. The bank is ranked 10th in the 2023 Fortune Southeast Asia 500, making it the highest-ranked bank on the list.
Gupta took over as CEO in 2009 after 27 years at Citigroup, including as CEO for Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
Under Gupta's leadership, DBS has expanded its operations in India, Taiwan and mainland China, and the bank has also been credited with embracing technology under his leadership.
Tan joined DBS from Morgan Stanley in 2010 after receiving a call from Gupta shortly after he became CEO. Since joining DBS, Tan has helped expand DBS' consumer banking, wealth management and institutional banking businesses.
Like Gupta, Tan is a strong believer in leveraging technology, and DBS said he led the day-to-day efforts to execute the bank's digitalisation strategy across the businesses he runs.
Speaking at the Fortune Brainstorm AI conference in Singapore last week, Tan said the “number one” challenge in getting the bank's thousands of employees to use AI was “getting everyone on board,” and that the next step was to hold employees responsible for adopting the new technology.
“Let them own the model. Let them own the feedback loop. Let them own the outcomes,” Tan said.
Tan's appointment makes her the first woman to lead DBS Bank and the second woman to lead a major Singapore bank. Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp., Singapore's second-largest bank, appointed Helen Wong in 2021.
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