DBS Nabs Ex-VML CEO Audrey Kuah For Group Marketing And Comms Role

(MENAFN- PRovoke) SINGAPORE - DBS Bank has picked Audrey Kuah as its new group marketing and communications head. Kuah was previously APAC co-CEO at VML and takes the reins from Karen Ngui, who held the role for the last 20 years.

A seasoned marketing and media leader with over 25 years of global experience in digital, data and AI driven marketing, Kuah will strengthen DBS' bank wide marketing approach and advance its“One Bank, One Brand” ambitions through impactful communications aligned with DBS' mission and goals.

She will oversee all of DBS' marketing and communications functions, including business marketing, performance marketing, external communications, enterprise-wide content, brand and internal communications, which have been unified under GM&C. She reports to Derrick Goh, group chief operating officer for DBS, said a DBS spokesperson.

Kuah has extensive experience in global agencies such as J Walter Thompson, Dentsu and WPP covering Asia. She has also covered financial services that included Citi International Personal Banking, Standard Chartered Bank and OCBC/Great Eastern.

Most recently, she was CEO, Wunderman Thompson (Asia Pacific), a leading digital marketing company where she drove its transformation using data and technology until it was merged with VML. Before that, Kuah was with OCBC as group MD and head of marketing, global consumer financial services.

In her career, Kuah has helped clients globally to develop and deploy predictive sales modelling, programmatic agentic AI, as well as digital initiatives leveraging data and AI/ML as Dentsu's director of global data innovation centre in collaboration with the Economic Development Board.

This comes shortly after Ngui relinquished the role, which she held for 20 years, to focus fully on her role as head of DBS Foundation. As head of DBS Foundation, Ngui will continue to bring the bank's purpose-driven spirit to life and drive its commitment to creating impact beyond banking. Ngui also oversees the bank's employee volunteerism initiative, DBS People of Purpose.

"2026 marks a meaningful transition in my DBS journey – one that I approach with gratitude and pride," she wrote on LinkedIn. "After more than 20 wonderful years with DBS, I've decided to step down as head of group strategic marketing and communications, so that I can focus my time and energy entirely on championing impact beyond banking through the DBS Foundation and our DBS People of Purpose initiatives."

She added that she is grateful to her team, both past and present. "Together, we shaped, differentiated and strengthened the DBS brand through both calm and crisis, and helped position DBS as a purpose-driven, world-class bank. The shared sense of purpose, courage and camaraderie made this journey truly special," she said.

Ngui added that as she devotes her full energy to the DBS Foundation in this new“re-wirement” chapter, she is encouraged by how far the team has come over the past decade and motivated by how much more there is to do. "Our mission remains clear: to enable sustainable and scalable change by uplifting vulnerable communities, fostering inclusion and supporting purpose-driven businesses across Asia," she said.

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