TLDR: DBS Group CEO Tan Su Shan, upon her appointment, received a stark message from her board: ‘Even the CEO’s job can be replaced by AI.’ This prompted her to champion a ‘four Rs’ philosophy—reinvent, stay relevant, be resilient, and act responsibly—at the Fortune Brainstorm AI Singapore conference. The bank is actively integrating AI, including a generative AI executive coach, and projects significant value creation from the technology, even as it anticipates a reduction in temporary staff due to AI adoption.
Singapore, August 22, 2025 – The evolving landscape of artificial intelligence has prompted a candid reflection at the highest echelons of DBS Group, Southeast Asia’s largest bank. On the very day of her appointment as CEO, Tan Su Shan received a provocative WhatsApp message from her board, stating, ‘Even the CEO’s job can be replaced by AI.’ This striking message, which Tan Su Shan shared at the Fortune Brainstorm AI Singapore conference held from July 24-28, 2025, served as a powerful catalyst for her leadership philosophy in an AI-driven era.
Tan Su Shan embraced the board’s message not as a threat, but as a challenge, declaring, ‘If the CEO can be replaced by AI, so can everything else!’ This perspective has shaped her strategic approach to AI’s transformative impact on the bank and its workforce. She has since championed a ‘four Rs’ framework for DBS: reinvent, stay relevant, be resilient, and act responsibly. This framework underscores the need for continuous adaptation and accountability amidst the volatility brought by technological advancements.
Highlighting a shift in talent acquisition, Tan Su Shan emphasized that in an age where knowledge is ubiquitous and democratized, DBS no longer hires for knowledge alone. Instead, the focus is on attitude – seeking individuals who are agile, humble, and willing to acknowledge that ‘whatever I knew up to today is no longer relevant today or tomorrow.’ This forward-thinking approach aims to cultivate a workforce unafraid to ‘let go, take a step back, relearn some new skills to go forward.’
DBS is actively integrating AI across its operations. The bank has introduced a generative AI-powered executive coach, developed in collaboration with leadership expert Marshall Goldsmith, to provide personalized coaching to all employees. This initiative aims to address varying levels of AI engagement observed across the organization, particularly among middle management, who were noted as the least engaged compared to junior and senior staff. In 2023, DBS projected that AI could contribute up to 1 billion Singapore dollars (approximately $782 million USD) in value.
In a related development reported earlier in February 2025, DBS Group Holdings announced plans to reduce its contract and temporary staff workforce by approximately 4,000 over the next three years, attributing these cuts to the increasing adoption of artificial intelligence. However, the bank clarified that permanent staff would not be affected, with reductions occurring through natural attrition as temporary roles conclude.
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The Fortune Brainstorm AI Singapore conference, where Tan Su Shan shared her insights, brought together over 70 global leaders to discuss AI’s profound societal and economic implications. Discussions ranged from AI’s potential for job displacement and its role in bridging global inequality to the energy demands of AI infrastructure and the geopolitical competition between the U.S. and China in the AI domain. Tan Su Shan’s leadership at DBS exemplifies a proactive stance in navigating these complex challenges, urging a human-led adaptation to an increasingly AI-driven world.
