Often lauded as a star banker, Piyush Gupta spent the past 15 years transforming DBS Bank into a global powerhouse for digital banking and innovation. Come March 28, he will retire and step down as chief executive officer of DBS Group, leaving a lasting legacy with his unorthodox leadership.

Born in Meerut, India, Gupta spent 27 years at Citigroup, where he held various leadership roles across Asia. In 2001, he launched his entrepreneurial venture, the digital platform Go4i.com, in collaboration with the Hindustan Times, one of India’s largest newspapers, but it was cut short by the dot‑com bubble burst. The failure of his start‑up was a humbling experience—one that Gupta has openly discussed, including its impact on his mental health. Yet, the setback fortified his resilience and shaped his tech‑forward banking approach.

When he joined DBS Group in 2009, Gupta inherited a bank that had a reputation for inefficiency, earning the nickname of “Damn, Bloody, Slow”, wrote the bank’s former chief data and transformation officer Paul Cobban in his 2017 article 10 Lessons Learnt When DBS Came Out of the Stone Age. Gupta was aware of the challenges that awaited him. “Years ago, I came across research that stated that 71 per cent of people prefer going to a dentist [as] compared to going to a bank,” he recalls, referencing a three‑year study by Scratch, a creative‑consulting team operating within media company Viacom. “And that’s not a good way to feel after a whole career in banking.”

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While pursuing a PhD in biomedical engineering, Florence Chan, co-founder and CEO of AI Guided, observed visually impaired individuals navigate a mall with a white cane and a guiding dog. She wondered: “If we could develop self-driving cars, could we also ‘autopilot’ a person?”

To gauge the need for such a product, the Gen.T Leader of Tomorrow contacted and sought advice from The Hong Kong Society for the Blind. 

Their discussions revealed several challenges with existing digital devices. Global Positioning System (GPS) signals often falter in densely built environments, resulting in inaccurate navigation.

Users also reported difficulty hearing instructions over background noise or experiencing discomfort when wearing head-mounted gadgets. Therefore, they turned to traditional tools like white canes or travelling without assistance, even if it was more risky.

Keeping these pain points in mind, Chan co-founded AI Guided in 2020 with a schoolmate, aiming to leverage the power of artificial intelligence to create a better option for those in need.

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Nico Santos arrives in Manila with a suitcase full of sharp suits and still sharper stories. It’s been seven years since he last set foot in the Philippines—“2017”, he recalls, “when I was on break from filming Crazy Rich Asians.” This time, the actor and comedian returns not as a traveller but as a resource person invited by Lisa Lew, one of the founders of the Manila International Film Festival. Ask him, however, why he’s here, and he’s quick with a joke: “To keep my mum happy. I mean, she just flew back to the US from the Philippines, heard I was coming and made me buy her another ticket.” With his husband, the three enjoyed a few days in Pangulasian Island, El Nido before work called him back to reality.

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The mix of humour and honesty is quintessential Nico Santos. Born in the Philippines and raised in Oregon, Santos has carved out a niche in Hollywood as one of the industry’s most prominent queer Filipino voices. But the journey was anything but smooth. “I didn’t set out to be an actor,” he says. “I just wanted to pay my bills and do what I loved.” As he reflects on his rise—from a teen navigating American high school to a celebrated comedian and actor—Santos balances gratitude with a healthy dose of humour and self-deprecation.

Tatler Asia’s Front & Female Changemakers celebrates the stories of remarkable women who have sparked change, standing out as powerful examples of impact and inspiration. Since the series’ official launch in September, we have highlighted the journeys of a wide selection of women, each one dedicated to creating a better future for their communities. They break barriers, empower others and advocate for vital social issues in their respective drives for meaningful change.

Below, we’ve highlighted the stories that have resonated most with our audience so far, featuring the Malaysian who is championing inclusivity for the Deaf community through an initiative that has gone global, to a woman transforming the lives of orphans through technology, to the founder whose breakthrough non-invasive, affordable and accessible treatments for cervical precancer could revolutionise women’s health. Read on to learn more about these resilient, innovative and determined women who are inspirations to us all.

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