Bringing her laptop to delivery room: 5 things to know about DBS' CEO-Designate Tan Su Shan

DBS has announced its current Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Piyush Gupta will step down in March 2025.

He will be succeeded by Tan Su Shan, 56, who is currently the Global Head of Corporate and Commercial Banking at DBS. 

Tan will be the first woman to lead DBS when she takes over the role of CEO next year. DBS is Singapore and Southeast Asia’s largest bank.

During the media briefing, Tan shared that her vision for DBS was to move forward using four Cs – Culture, Customers, Collaboraton and Continuity, on the path of transformation, innovation and growth. 

5 Things to Know about Tan Su Shan

#1 - Career in Banking

Tan joined DBS in 2010 and is currently the Global Head of Corporate and Commercial Banking at DBS. 

Prior to leading the corporate banking business, she was Group Head of Consumer Banking and Wealth Management for close to a decade. 

During her time at DBS, she was also involved in the bank’s digital transformation. She shared that DBS’ digital transformation journey started in 2009 where the bank had to fix the basics before it could even imagine being a digital bank.

One of the key areas of focus was on changing the culture of the company to become a 29,000-person start-up.

“Our aim in all this is to disappear into our customers’ lives, to provide banking products and services that are so seamlessly embedded we can be the ‘Disappearing Bank of Singapore’. 

Prior to joining DBS, Tan was Morgan Stanley’s Head of Private Wealth Management for Southeast Asia. 

Before re-joining Morgan Stanley in May 2008, Tan was a Region Head for Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei for Citi Private Bank. She was responsible for the private bank’s overall business and a board director of Citi Trust Singapore. 

Prior to that, Tan was an Executive Director with Morgan Stanley in Singapore, serving from 1997 to 2005 as an investment adviser to high net worth families, corporates and institutions in the region. 

Before joining Morgan Stanley, Tan spent eight years in ING Baring Securities in institutional equity sales, working in key financial hubs in London, Tokyo and Hong Kong.

In October 2014, Tan became the first Singaporean to be recognised as the world’s “Best Leader in Private Banking” by PWM/The Banker, a wealth publication by the Financial Times Group. 

Going further back, Tan shared that she took her first internship at DBS when she was a university student. 

#2 – Dedication to Work

Tan has a reputation for being hard working.

In an interview with Bloomberg in 2013, Tan recounted how she took her laptop and mobile phone to a Singapore delivery room after experiencing the first pangs of labour while trading yen for a wealth management client. 

“I don’t know whether it was the baby or the exchange rate” causing the heavy breathing.

#3 – Never be afraid to ask questions

Tan graduated with a Master of Arts from Oxford University in the United Kingdom, where she studied Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE). 

Before her university education, she attended Hwa Chong Junior College. 

“I encourage students to challenge theories and put forward their opinions boldly. And never be afraid to ask questions. A common hindrance to progress is the fear of appearing stupid.”

#4 – Served as Nominated Member of Parliament 

Tan previously served as a Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) in Singapore from 2012 to 2014. 

During her term as a NMP, Tan spoke about the need for Singapore to rein in costs or it will “price itself out of the market”.

She also advocated for more Singaporeans to build up their knowledge and readiness for retirement planning.

Tan also noted that Singapore’s income gap "could be potentially destabilising for our society", unless decisive action is taken to tackle it.

#5 - Advocate for female empowerment 

Tan is an advocate for women leadership, and was the founder and past president of the Financial Women’s Association in Singapore.

During her time at Oxford, she set up a a women-only club as she felt there were so many male-only societies there that she had to counter that.

More recently, she shared in an interview that there are more women than men at DBS with a large share of women at the top and the required HR polices to support the commitment towards female leadership. 

“I would tell ambitious young women to go for it. Know what you want but know that the endpoint is not the goal. The journey and evolution is what you should enjoy. Along the way, collect memories and friendships. Gather and groom talent. There is a lot of satisfaction in that.”

Tan shared in an interview that her role model was her mum. 

“For her, it was never an issue of choice between children and work. She just focused on both and did her best at work and at home so that was how my sister and I were brought up”

Related links:

• DBS share price and share price target
• DBS dividend forecast and dividend history

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