DBS appoints insider Susan Chan as first female CEO, replacing Gupta | Wilnesh News

DBS Group Tan Su Shan, the company’s head of institutional banking, will succeed Chief Executive Piyush Gupta when she retires in March, the company said on Wednesday, making her the first female chief executive of Singapore’s largest bank.

DBS said in a statement that Tan, who joined the bank in 2010, will serve as deputy chief executive.

Chief Executive Piyush Gupta will retire on March 28, 2025, when the bank will hold its next annual general meeting.

The banking veteran spent his first three years at DBS building out the bank’s wealth management and institutional banking businesses, which account for 90% of the company’s revenue.

DBS Chairman Peter Seah told reporters at an earnings briefing on Wednesday that Tan’s appointment would also make her the first internal candidate to succeed as chief executive.

The latest appointment ends long-running speculation about who will succeed the 64-year-old Gupta.

Gupta was instrumental in reshaping the bank’s culture and upgrading its technology to meet the challenges posed by emerging digital banking competitors.

Since Gupta joined in November 2009, DBS shares have nearly quadrupled, surging 279% in value, while Singapore’s main stock index has risen 72.5%.

“Piyush is a great need to fill,” Tan said at a news conference.

With this appointment, Ms Tan will become the second female leader of a major Singaporean bank. OCBC Bank Appointed Helen Wong as its head in 2021.

Meanwhile, DBS Bank’s quarterly profit on Wednesday beat analysts’ expectations, while a booming wealth business drove asset and fee income to record highs, leading the bank to raise its full-year profit forecast.

Even though DBS posted record profits in 2023 and beat fourth-quarter earnings expectations, the company decided in early February to reduce Gupta’s pay by S$4.1 million ($3.1 million), which was a huge blow to him. Last year’s digital banking outage came as a punishment.