Who is Tan Su Shan, the woman to take over as the DBS CEO
On Wednesday (7 Aug), DBS announced that 56-year-old banker Tan Su Shan will be taking over as the new chief executive officer (CEO) for Singapore’s largest bank.
Source: HRM Asia
Currently serving as deputy CEO, Ms Tan is set to replace the current CEO, Piyush Gupta, when he retires in March 2025.
Ms Tan has decades of experience in finance and banking, having had long stints at investment banking company Morgan Stanley, Citi, and of course, DBS.
Find out the impressive credentials that earned her this top position, as well as her secret to balancing her demanding career with her roles as a wife and mother.
1. She will be the first female CEO of DBS
Ms Tan is poised to make history as the first female CEO of DBS and only the second woman to ever lead a Singaporean bank, following OCBC’s Helen Wong in 2021.
According to DBS Chairman Peter Seah, Ms Tan was the strongest among the internal and external candidates considered for the role.
He noted her exceptional performance in leading two major divisions of the bank.
Under her leadership, DBS’s consumer and wealth business grew significantly, contributing about a third of the bank’s pretax profit before she transitioned to a new role in 2019, Bloomberg reported.
Current CEO Piyush Gupta also praised his successor’s “fantastic business instinct” and “great customer skills”.
“I have every confidence that she has what it takes to lead this institution to greater heights in days to come,” he added.
When asked in 2023 how she navigated a male-dominated field, Ms Tan credited her resilient attitude, saying:
If they throw something at you, throw it back with gusto.
2. She previously served as a Nominated Member of Parliament
On top of her impressive professional experience, Ms Tan has also served as a Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) from 2012 to 2014.
NMPs are individuals appointed by the President of Singapore who provide independent and non-partisan perspectives in Parliament.
During her term, she advocated for the government to let women freeze their eggs before marriage to extend their biological time clocks, something that was only legalised in 2023.
Beyond her advocacy for women’s rights, she also helped underprivileged children in Singapore access complex surgeries at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital.
Additionally, Ms Tan has served on several boards in sectors including government, education, and women’s leadership.
3. She is married with two children
Ms Tan has been married for over 25 years to her husband, Chris, with whom she has a son and a daughter.
In an interview with Rachel Lim, co-founder of local fashion brand Love, Bonito, she was asked how she was able to juggle her career and her home life.
Ms Tan gave credit to her mother who helped her when her kids were growing up.
She also added that having a hands-on husband, understanding colleagues, and independent kids made it easier.
Despite this, she admitted that she has had to miss important moments in her children’s lives, which she just had to accept.
However, she would find a way to be there for them during important milestones, sharing how she once held a one-on-one meeting in her car on the way to her son’s final floorball tournament just so she could attend it in person.
Ms Tan advised young mothers to trust their instincts when it comes to raising their children while pursuing their careers.
On maintaining a strong marriage, she emphasized the importance of communication and making time for each other, stating, “You cannot overcommunicate… Even if it’s just small messages that you send to each other.”
4. She has won many awards in her career
With Ms Tan’s illustrious career also comes a string of prestigious accolades.
In October 2014, she made history as the first Singaporean to be recognized as the world’s best leader in private banking by The Banker, a publication by the Financial Times Group.
Despite competing against 30 bankers from North and Latin America, Europe, and Asia, she received “close to unanimous backing” from the judges.
In 2018, Ms Tan was nominated as a “Top 25 Emergent Asian Woman Business Leader” by Forbes Magazine and was honored as the “Retail Banker of the Year” by Digital Banker, an industry news and research agency.
5. She is an Oxford graduate
Ms Tan holds a master’s degree in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics from the University of Oxford in England.
On top of this, she has completed executive leadership programs from Harvard Business School, Stanford Business School, and Singularity University.
At the press conference on 7 Aug, Ms Tan shared that her first internship as a university student was at DBS, making her appointment as the bank’s next CEO a full-circle moment.
Also read: DBS tops LinkedIn list for best S’pore workplace to grow in career
DBS tops LinkedIn list for best S’pore workplace to grow in career
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Featured image adapted from Elets BFSI – Elets Technomedia and HRM Asia.
