Singapore’s DBS faces succession dilemma: who can replace ‘all-star’ banker Piyush Gupta?
- In his time as CEO, the 63-year-old has built DBS into Singapore’s largest listed company, and delivered equity returns that outstrip global peers
- DBS says Gupta isn’t going anywhere, but Southeast Asia’s largest bank by assets has been making moves seen as precursors to eventually passing the baton
In his time as chief executive officer at DBS Group Holdings Ltd, Gupta has built the lender into Singapore’s largest listed company, moved early into wealth management and other key business areas and delivered equity returns that outstrip global peers.
Now, that very success is creating an elephant in the room.
At conferences, shareholder meetings and townhalls, people who watch the bank closely are quietly asking the same questions: who’s going to replace the 63-year-old executive when his long stint ends? When will that happen? And will they be able to emulate his run?
Even after a recent series of online banking disruptions angered retail customers, industry observers say Gupta’s record is intact – and the bank’s biggest challenge is finding his successor.
“These issues should have no bearing on Piyush’s legacy, nor are they unique to DBS,” said Vikram Pandit, who was CEO of Citigroup Inc. from 2007 to 2012 and overlapped with Gupta at the US bank.