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[SINGAPORE] Piyush Gupta’s tenure as DBS’ chief executive officer ended with a bang as the group posted record net profit of S$11.29 billion for 2024, and he received a total remuneration of S$17.6 million for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2024. 

Tan Su Shan succeeded Gupta on Mar 28. Recently, Tan, who is DBS’ first female CEO, was named the sixth most powerful woman in business in Fortune magazine’s 2025 100 Most Powerful Women in Business list.

However, while Tan is a path-breaker, her climb to the top job represents in many respects a traditional and safe choice. Tan has strong academic credentials and is a career banker. She had helmed institutional banking, consumer banking and wealth management at DBS. 

Aged 57, Tan sits smack within the age group of those who dominate corporate leadership here. 

The CEOs of major Singapore groups who are aged in their 50s to mid-60s include Lim Chow Kiat of GIC, Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara of Temasek, Helen Wong of OCBC, Hiew Yoon Khong of Mapletree Investments, Yuen Kuan Moon of Singtel, Goh Choon Phong of Singapore Airlines, Loh Boon Chye of Singapore Exchange, Loh Chin Hua of Keppel and Vincent Chong of ST Engineering.

At DBS, Tan’s senior executive leadership team has numerous members who are in their 50s.

Age diversity

While substantial efforts have been made to promote diversity in corporate leadership by strengthening female representation, perhaps more can be done to build age-diverse senior management teams in corporate Singapore.

Might an old business requiring radical transformation be best led by a 30-something leader who is energetic, willing to take risks and unencumbered by corporate history? Equally, a CEO who is in his 70s may bring greater urgency and boldness to business transformation, as he has a shorter runway.

Many businesses have employees and customers spanning different age groups. Arguably, a business whose top management reflects the diverse ages of its staff and customers can better meet the aspirations of these stakeholders.

For example, a retail bank’s key customer groups span digital-savvy young adults with long investment horizons to the elderly, some of whom may be flummoxed by technology. 

Meanwhile, a consumer goods group may offer products for young kids, teenagers, young adults, the middle-aged and the elderly. 

A company led by a team comprising members with the lived experience of various generations might best understand the perspectives and needs of the wide range of customers. This can result in providing products and services that better meet diverse customer needs. 

Indeed, a business aiming to capture the loyalty of young social media-native adults, as well as well-heeled seniors, could benefit from having persons of such age groups occupy key decision-making roles. 

Moreover, a company’s older leaders may be better able to manage older employees, while younger leaders could be more effective in attracting and developing young talent. In short, a company embracing age-diversity in its leadership might see staff morale and productivity rise. 

Importantly, from a risk management perspective, could a senior leadership team composed largely or solely of members of a certain age group raise the prospect of groupthink and missing blind spots?

Climbing the ranks

Beyond corporate Singapore, 52-year-old Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s Cabinet is filled with many ministers who are in their 50s and 60s.  

Maybe it is natural that people start reaching the top management ranks and possibly securing the top job in a large company at around or after 50 years old. After all, promising young leaders need time to understand an organisation’s complexity by working in different parts of it, as well as to build external plus internal relationships.

Also, grooming leaders takes time as candidates earmarked for top positions need to demonstrate results from assuming ever-expanding responsibilities before climbing further up the corporate ladder.

Meanwhile, senior leaders often step aside when they are in their 60s to make room for new leaders. And many companies here do not retain ex-CEOs in a different capacity in executive management. Possibly, a new head honcho might feel inhibited by such an arrangement.

Nonetheless, it is worth noting that nearly 80 million people voted for the “old-young” pairing of 78-year-old Donald Trump and his running mate, 40-year-old JD Vance, in last November’s US presidential elections. Trump and Vance prevailed over 60-year-old Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Walz, who is now 61.

Certainly, US voters based their choice on various factors besides the age of the candidates. Still, many people appear fine sending into a highly demanding job a man who will turn 80 during his presidential term.

Ultimately, if big companies here see the benefits to having age-diverse top management teams, they should work to build a multi-generational executive leadership team with members ranging in age from the 30s to the 70s or older.

The world is increasingly messy and unpredictable. Many businesses face disruption whether from technology, artificial intelligence, climate change, geopolitics, ageing populations, rising protectionism, culture wars or changing consumer behaviour. 

Having leadership teams comprising members spanning different generations likely better prepares companies to handle the myriad of challenges which confront businesses today. 

Singapore companies can try to get a competitive edge by building leadership teams with gender, cultural and age diversity.