Piyush Gupta

Piyush Gupta
Gupta in 2023
Piyush Gupta
Born	24 1, 1960
Birthplace	Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India
Nationality	Singaporean
Occupation	Banker, corporate executive
Title	Former CEO of DBS Group; Chairman, Temasek India; Chairman-designate, Keppel Ltd
Known for	CEO of DBS Group Holdings (2009–2025)
Spouse(s)	Ruchira Gupta
Children	2
Website	[https://www.dbs.com/gsmc-grp/Bod/bod-piyush-gupta Official site]

Piyush Gupta (born 24 January 1960) is a Singaporean banker of Indian origin who served as the chief executive officer (CEO) of DBS Group Holdings, Southeast Asia's largest bank by assets, from 2009 to 2025. Under his leadership, DBS underwent a comprehensive digital transformation and expanded across Asia, earning multiple global accolades including Euromoney's "World's Best Bank" designation. Born in the northern Indian city of Meerut and educated at some of India's most prestigious academic institutions, Gupta built a career spanning more than three decades in banking before taking the helm at DBS. He has served as vice-chairman of the Institute of International Finance since 2013 and became a board member of Enterprise Singapore in 2024. Following his departure from DBS, Gupta was appointed Chairman of Temasek India in November 2025 and was named chairman-designate of Keppel Ltd in early 2026.

Early Life

Piyush Gupta was born on 24 January 1960 in Meerut, a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh in northern India. He grew up in India during a period of significant economic and social change in the country. Details regarding his parents and family background during his formative years remain limited in public sources, though his subsequent career trajectory suggests an early orientation toward academic achievement and professional ambition.

Gupta's early life in India shaped his understanding of emerging markets and the role of financial institutions in economic development—themes that would later define his leadership philosophy at DBS. His upbringing in Meerut, a mid-sized Indian city, and subsequent move to Delhi for higher education provided him with exposure to both the challenges and opportunities of a rapidly developing economy.

Education

Gupta pursued his undergraduate studies at St. Stephen's College, one of India's oldest and most prestigious liberal arts colleges, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Delhi. He subsequently enrolled at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM Ahmedabad), consistently ranked among the top business schools in Asia, where he obtained a Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM). The PGDM from IIM Ahmedabad is regarded as equivalent to a Master of Business Administration and is one of the most competitive graduate programmes in India, admitting only a small fraction of applicants each year.

His educational background at these institutions placed Gupta among a cohort of Indian professionals who went on to occupy senior positions in global banking and finance. The analytical rigour and strategic thinking emphasised at IIM Ahmedabad would later inform his approach to transforming DBS from a regional bank into a globally recognised financial institution.

Career

Pre-DBS Career at Citigroup

Before joining DBS, Gupta spent approximately 27 years at Citigroup, one of the world's largest banking and financial services corporations. During his tenure at Citigroup, he held a succession of senior leadership roles across multiple geographies in Asia and the broader emerging markets. His career at Citigroup provided extensive experience in consumer banking, institutional banking, and market development across the Asia-Pacific region.

His long career at Citigroup allowed Gupta to develop deep expertise in Asian financial markets and gave him a comprehensive understanding of both the retail and wholesale banking operations that would prove critical in his later role at DBS. By the time he departed Citigroup, he had established a reputation as a seasoned banker with particular strength in strategy, digital innovation, and emerging market operations.

Appointment as CEO of DBS Group

In September 2009, DBS Group Holdings announced the appointment of Piyush Gupta as its new chief executive officer, effective from that year. At the time of his appointment, DBS was already Southeast Asia's largest bank by assets but was perceived as a largely domestic Singaporean institution with significant room for growth in its regional and international operations.

Gupta's selection as CEO marked a significant transition for the bank. He was tasked with revitalising DBS's growth strategy, expanding its footprint across Asia, and modernising its operations to compete with both global banking giants and an emerging wave of financial technology competitors.

Digital Transformation and Strategic Expansion

Under Gupta's leadership, DBS embarked on one of the most ambitious digital transformation programmes in the global banking sector. Gupta articulated a vision for DBS to become a technology company that happened to hold a banking licence, rather than a traditional bank that used technology. This philosophy drove sweeping changes across the organisation's operations, culture, and customer experience.

The bank invested heavily in cloud computing, data analytics, artificial intelligence, and application programming interfaces (APIs) to redesign its core banking processes. DBS launched digibank, a mobile-only banking platform, in India in 2016 and subsequently in Indonesia, representing the bank's strategy of using digital-first approaches to enter new markets without the capital expenditure of building physical branch networks.

Gupta also oversaw the expansion of DBS's operations across key Asian markets including China, India, Indonesia, and Hong Kong, while strengthening the bank's position in its core markets of Singapore and Hong Kong. The bank's total assets grew substantially during his tenure, and DBS consistently ranked as the largest bank in Southeast Asia by assets throughout his period as CEO.

The strategic focus on technology and customer experience led to significant changes in the bank's internal culture. Gupta championed the adoption of agile working methodologies, encouraged experimentation and start-up-like practices within the bank, and pushed for the development of internal technology capabilities rather than relying solely on external vendors.

Global Recognition for DBS

The transformation undertaken during Gupta's tenure resulted in DBS receiving a series of significant international accolades. In 2019, Euromoney named DBS the "World's Best Bank," citing the comprehensive nature of its digital transformation and the way it had fundamentally reimagined the banking experience for customers. Euromoney noted that under Gupta, DBS had moved from being perceived as a traditional, somewhat conservative Southeast Asian bank to one that was setting standards for digital innovation globally.

In 2021, Euromoney again recognised DBS as the "World's Best Bank," noting the institution's ability to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic while maintaining strong financial performance and continuing its digital strategy. The publication highlighted how DBS's prior investments in technology infrastructure enabled the bank to adapt rapidly to the disruptions caused by the pandemic.

These recognitions represented a significant shift in the global perception of DBS and, by extension, of Singaporean and Southeast Asian banking institutions more broadly. The awards positioned DBS alongside major global banks that had traditionally dominated such rankings.

Sustainability and Emerging Technology

During the latter years of his tenure, Gupta increasingly directed DBS's focus toward sustainability and the implications of emerging technologies for the financial sector. He participated in discussions on the intersection of finance and climate action, including appearances at forums such as TIME100 Talks, where he discussed leadership and the role of finance in building a more sustainable future.

Gupta also engaged with the rapidly evolving landscape of Web 3.0 technologies, blockchain, and digital assets. At the Singapore FinTech Festival, he addressed global trends related to the next generation of internet technologies and their potential impact on financial services. Under his leadership, DBS established a digital exchange that facilitated the trading of digital assets and cryptocurrencies, positioning the bank at the forefront of institutional adoption of blockchain technology in Asia.

Departure from DBS

Gupta's tenure as CEO of DBS Group concluded in 2025, after approximately sixteen years at the helm of the bank. His departure marked the end of one of the longest and most transformative leadership periods in the history of major Asian financial institutions.

In a wide-ranging interview with Forbes published in April 2025, Gupta reflected on the defining moments of his career and the legacy he intended to leave at DBS. He discussed the major leaps he had taken during his leadership and the principles that had guided the bank's transformation from a regional institution to a globally recognised financial services provider.

Post-DBS Roles

Following his departure from DBS, Gupta assumed several prominent positions in the Singaporean corporate and investment landscape. On 28 November 2025, Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings announced the appointment of Gupta as Chairman of Temasek India, effective 1 December 2025. In this non-executive advisory role, Gupta was tasked with strengthening Temasek's institutional networks in India and beyond, enhancing franchise value, and expanding portfolio opportunities in one of the world's fastest-growing major economies.

The appointment was viewed as strategically significant given India's growing importance as a destination for global investment and Gupta's deep familiarity with the Indian market, having been born in the country and having overseen DBS's expansion there during his tenure as CEO.

In February 2026, Keppel Ltd announced that Gupta, who had been serving as deputy chairman of the company's board, would succeed retiring chairman Danny Teoh as chairman of the board, effective 17 April 2026. This appointment placed Gupta at the head of one of Singapore's major conglomerates, which has significant operations in energy, urban development, connectivity, and asset management.

Personal Life

Piyush Gupta is married to Ruchira Gupta, and the couple have two children. Originally from India, Gupta is a citizen of Singapore, having settled in the city-state over the course of his banking career.

Gupta has been involved in philanthropic activities, including serving as an ambassador for CanKids KidsCan, an Indian non-governmental organisation focused on childhood cancer awareness and support.

His public commentary on leadership and management has emphasised the importance of institutional culture, willingness to embrace disruption, and the need for established organisations to adopt the mindset and agility of technology start-ups. In interviews, he has discussed the personal and professional leaps that shaped his career trajectory, from his decision to leave India for a career in international banking to his acceptance of the CEO role at DBS.

Recognition

Gupta's leadership at DBS resulted in numerous awards and recognitions for both the bank and himself personally. The most prominent of these include:

DBS was named "World's Best Bank" by Euromoney in both 2019 and 2021, one of the most prestigious distinctions in the global banking industry. The 2019 award specifically cited the scale and depth of the digital transformation undertaken under Gupta's leadership.

Gupta was featured in TIME's TIME100 Talks programme, which convenes influential leaders for discussions on pressing global issues. His participation focused on the role of finance and leadership in driving sustainable development.

His tenure at DBS also drew attention from major international media outlets. The New York Times profiled Gupta and his management approach, highlighting the strategic choices that set DBS apart from its regional competitors. Forbes published an extensive interview with Gupta in 2025 examining his legacy of leadership at the bank.

Under Gupta's leadership, DBS consistently featured among Asia-Pacific's largest banks by assets, as tracked by S&P Global Market Intelligence. The bank's growth during his tenure was accompanied by improvements in key financial metrics and an expansion of its customer base across multiple Asian markets.

Gupta has also held institutional roles in the global financial governance landscape, including serving as vice-chairman of the Institute of International Finance since 2013, reflecting his standing within the international banking community.

Legacy

Piyush Gupta's sixteen-year tenure as CEO of DBS Group is considered one of the most consequential periods of leadership in Southeast Asian banking history. When he assumed the role in 2009, DBS was a large but primarily domestic Singaporean bank; by the time of his departure in 2025, the institution had been recognised repeatedly as one of the world's leading banks, with a significantly expanded regional footprint and a reputation for digital innovation that was studied and emulated by financial institutions globally.

His emphasis on digital transformation as a fundamental strategic imperative—rather than a supplementary technology initiative—set a template that was adopted by other major banks in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond. The digibank platform and DBS's investments in data analytics, artificial intelligence, and digital asset infrastructure represented concrete examples of how a traditional financial institution could reinvent itself in the face of technological disruption.

Forbes characterised Gupta's career as one defined by consequential leaps—from India to international banking, from a long career at Citigroup to the challenge of leading DBS, and from conventional banking to a technology-driven model of financial services. His reflections on leadership emphasised the necessity of institutional courage, cultural transformation, and sustained commitment to strategic direction even in the face of short-term pressures.

His post-DBS appointments as Chairman of Temasek India and chairman of Keppel Ltd suggest that his influence on Singapore's corporate and financial landscape extends well beyond his tenure at DBS. The Temasek India role in particular positions Gupta as a key figure in the investment relationship between Singapore and India, two economies whose financial integration has deepened significantly during the period in which Gupta has been active in Asian banking.

The trajectory of DBS during Gupta's leadership also had broader significance for how Southeast Asian financial institutions were perceived internationally. By demonstrating that a bank headquartered in Singapore could compete with and surpass global banking giants in areas such as digital innovation and customer experience, Gupta's DBS contributed to a reassessment of the capabilities and ambitions of Asian financial institutions on the world stage.