DBS' group head of marketing Saurabh Singhal moves to GIFT City

Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) has appointed Saurabh Singhal as its new chief commercial officer (CCO) and chief fintech officer (CFTO). 

In his new role, Singhal will be responsible for making GIFT shine at the world stage and develop the national project into a national fintech innovation hub, according to Singhal on LinkedIn. 

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"With over 22 years of marketing and commercial leadership experience across enterprise and retail sectors, I am passionate about driving the next phase of growth for GIFT city," said Singhal on LinkedIn. 

"I'm fortunate to be part of a visionary project to build a brand-new city with world class infrastructure and regulatory framework."

Prior to his new role, Singhal was group head of marketing and martech of institutional banking, at DBS Bank in Singapore for over four years. 

At DBS Bank, he was responsible for transaction banking, small and medium enterprises (SME), large corporate and institutional investors segments, and was managing regional marketing budgets and team. He was also responsible for 360 marketing planning and execution across customer lifecycle. 

He had also served as DBS Bank's head of marketing of private bank and NRI banking and as its head of marketing of consumer banking. 

"After over five years and nine months, my incredible journey at DBS has come to a close. On my last day, I reflect on this journey and I am overcome with immense gratitude - and a heavy heart," said Singhal on LinkedIn when he stepped down. 

"When I pivoted from tech to banking, it was a leap of faith, I had no idea what was in store, but DBS exceeded every expectation. During my time, I met some of the most impressive, talented colleagues and inspiring leaders and mentors. I had the opportunity to run marketing across consumer banking, wealth, and institutional banking - each experience more enriching than the last," he added.

"As I sign off, I know that the DBS family will always remain a part of me, and I wish the very best for this amazing family."

Other roles Singhal has held include the APAC advisory board member at CMO Council, regional board member at The Marketing Society, head of marketing of APAC at Jabra and head of enterprise marketing of APAC at Juniper Networks. 

Gujarat is not the only city keen on developing itself towards becoming a hub. Closer to home, Johor Corporation's (JCorp) real estate and infrastructure arm, JLand Group (JLG) and ALPS Global Holding (ALPS) are reportedly collaborating to position Malaysia as a key player in the global biotechnology (biotech) landscape. 

Their collaboration will gear up to establish a biotech hub in Johor. The hub is reportedly aimed at generating an estimated gross development value (GDV) of RM980 million and will be positioned as Malaysia’s very own ‘Silicon Valley’.

Photo courtesy of The Marketing Society. 

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