Current Role | CEO, DBS Group (since 2009) |
Previous Position | CEO, Citibank Southeast Asia |
Key Recognition | Harvard Business Review Top 100 CEOs | Asia Banker CEO of the Decade |
Background and Early Foundations
Piyush Gupta was born in India and moved across Southeast Asia during his childhood, fostering a global perspective from a young age. He earned his economics degree from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, and later received an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad.
After nearly three decades at Citibank, where he led operations across Asia-Pacific, he was appointed CEO of DBS Group in 2009 — marking the beginning of one of Asia’s most lauded digital banking transformations.
Today, the Piyush Gupta banking leadership story is a masterclass in long-term innovation, digital scale, and public trust.
Career Milestones and Impact
Year | Achievement |
|---|---|
2009 | Appointed CEO of DBS Group |
2014 | Launched DBS’ digital transformation roadmap |
2019 | DBS named “World’s Best Bank” by Global Finance and Euromoney |
2024 | Announced expansion into AI banking, green finance, and regional fintech M&A |
- Assets Under Management: Over SGD $900 billion (USD $660 billion) as of Q1 2025
- Key Digital Innovation: “DBS digibank” platform, cloud-native banking services, ecosystem APIs
- Global Reach: Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, China, Taiwan
Leadership Style and Influence
Piyush Gupta is known for his visionary yet grounded leadership style:
- Drives customer-first innovation across banking, wealth, and SME platforms
- Encourages intrapreneurship — empowering DBS staff to lead digital projects internally
- Advocates for purpose-driven banking, with strong focus on sustainability and inclusion
He has consistently championed banking transformation not just for efficiency, but for societal value creation.
Legacy and Future Focus
Piyush Gupta’s legacy lies in turning DBS from a regional bank into a global digital powerhouse.
His next chapter includes:
- Pioneering AI-first banking operations and intelligent risk management
- Accelerating DBS’ climate transition financing goals (targeting net-zero by 2050)
- Investing in next-gen leadership, innovation labs, and talent ecosystems
DBS under his leadership continues to be a benchmark for what the future of banking in Asia — and globally — can look like.
