'What'll define me as CEO? In a word - impact'

Bank's next head says she will be doing a lot of listening in the time before she takes over

- Ravi Velloor

DBS CEO-designate Tan Su Shan is going back to where she started in banking - being an "intern".

"Between now and next March, I will be doing a lot of listening. Be an intern again," she tells The Straits Times. "I am going to sit in units I haven't run, such as global financial markets, group technology, and strategic marketing and communications." Ms Tan, 56, was named deputy chief executive and CEO-designate of DBS Bank on Aug 7. She will be the first woman to head Singapore's largest bank, moving into the slot vacated by Mr Piyush Gupta, who has led the institution since 2009 and will retire after the bank's annual general meeting on March 28, 2025.

The two were once colleagues at Citi. Ms Tan was a managing director at Morgan Stanley when Mr Gupta invited her to join DBS in 2010. She resigned from Morgan Stanley "the next day" after accepting his offer.

She has described it as a homecoming. In her first year at university, Ms Tan had interned at DBS' capital markets division under Mr Eric Ang, the bank's former group head of capital markets, and was paid $20.

Ms Tan currently heads DBS' Institutional Banking Group. While acknowledging Mr Gupta leaves big shoes to fill, she has also said hers will be "different shoes".

For the past several months, she has been having weekend mentoring sessions from Mr Gupta, who dominates DBS with his helicopter vision, attention to detail, communication skills, and understanding of technology.

While the official announcement to the stock exchange and the public was made on Aug 7, Ms Tan has had plenty of time to mull over the responsibility coming her way, having been told about a year ago that the job was hers.

Asked about her 100-day plan, she says her initial thoughts are to galvanise the existing management team.