DBS chairman Peter Seah to retire at year-end, Anthony Lim to succeed him next year

DBS Group chairman Peter Seah will retire at the end of this year after 16 years in the role. Independent director Anthony Lim will succeed him as chairman on 1 January 2027.

DBS Group announced the news in a statement before the market opened on Thursday (5 November). Seah, 80, joined the DBS board in 2009 and became group chairman in 2010. He will step down on 31 December this year and serve as a senior adviser to the group for a year after his retirement.

The statement said Seah had led the group's digital transformation and expansion into high-return businesses during his tenure as chairman, driving significant growth.

Since 2010, DBS Group's total income has more than tripled and its net profit more than quadrupled. In July this year, its market capitalisation surpassed S$200 billion, making it Singapore's largest listed company by market value, at about six times its value at the end of 2009.

Speaking at Thursday's results briefing, Seah recalled that the world was emerging from the global financial crisis when he became chairman in 2010. “I felt that we really needed to transform and restructure DBS –– not only to handle the business of the day, but to properly position itself for the future.”

He also said the board and management had therefore held in-depth discussions on how to prepare the bank for the digital age. DBS also expanded its operations into Hong Kong and mainland China, a strategy that drew some scepticism at the time.

Lim has served on the boards of DBS Group and DBS Bank for six years, since April 2020. He currently sits on the Board Executive Committee, Board Risk Management Committee, and Compensation and Management Development Committee, chairing the last of these.

DBS said Lim had played an important role in leadership succession planning, including facilitating the transition to a new group chief executive and overseeing remuneration governance and talent development.

Lim previously held senior management positions at institutions including Singapore's GIC. The group said his extensive experience in international financial markets and expertise in risk management would help DBS navigate an increasingly complex business environment.

DBS Group chief executive Tan Su Shan thanked Seah for his leadership and guidance over the years, noting that beyond his outstanding business and strategic acumen, he also excelled at building relationships and earning trust.

She also welcomed Lim as the incoming chairman, saying his extensive experience in geopolitics, risk management, organisational leadership and talent development would help DBS further strengthen its position as a trusted, artificial intelligence-enabled pan-Asian bank.

Teo Chee Hean ,chairman of Temasek Holdings and Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara, CEO of Temasek Holdings, also sent an open letter to Tan and the board, recognising Seah's leadership and contributions. The letter said Seah had assembled a board unafraid to ask tough questions and built relationships based on trust and candour with management, including former chief executive Piyush Gupta.

“His 15-year extraordinary partnership with Piyush exemplified how a Chairman and CEO can bring out the best in each other and in the institution they lead, and serves as a beacon for other companies in the Temasek stable. It has become one of the key factors for success that Temasek has adopted for its evaluation of its portfolio companies.”

Piyush said Seah had driven cultural change within the group. “As Chairman, he balanced between guiding management while giving us elbow room to operate exceptionally well. I couldn’t have asked for a better partner and mentor.”

Seah had announced in August that, for personal reasons, he had decided to step down as chairman of the National Wages Council. He is also a member of the Council of Presidential Advisers and chairs Singapore Airlines and LASALLE College of the Arts.