Derek Nakamoto
Derek Nakamoto is a seasoned certified project management professional (PMP) responsible for enterprise-wide process improvement and building meaningful member experiences through the Toyota-based management philosophy, Lean.
Prior to holding this position Derek worked with Envision Financial as AVP, business process and integration; director, insurance operations; and director, project management for the Envision subsidiary inUnison Technology Services.
After studying Computer Sciences at Simon Fraser University, Derek gained extensive global project management experience in the financial industry. Working in 10 different countries, partnering with American Express Global Financial Services (Singapore, Germany, UK, France, and Canada), Nomura Securities (Japan), EDS Consulting (United Emirates, Jamaica) VirtualBank (U.S.), Cheshire Building Society (UK), Banco Tornquist (Argentina) and Banco Inbursa (Mexico). He then joined Scotiabank as director of business process delivery investments, supporting over 1000 branches and 5000 staff across Canada.
Derek’s background and expertise give him invaluable insight for implementing Lean, for which he has recently achieved black-belt (expert) status.
Featured Posts
We’re now just past the one-year milestone in our Lean journey. It’s been an exciting year—we’ve had some great results, trimming waste from processes, creating efficiencies in our back office and streamlining service to members. Our employees are embracing the Lean mindset across the organization.
But as we often say at First...
“Sounds great in theory—but will it work in practice?”
You’ve probably heard something like that a few times before. That statement reflects the fact that past experience teaches us that sometimes, attempts to address a need falls short. Things don't work quite as they were conceived.
Now, there are a whole host of possible reasons why a solution may fail in the execution stage. The great thing about Lean is that it addresses one of...
The late Steve Jobs was notorious for his unwillingness to use market research to find out what customers wanted. His stance was that customers couldn’t really tell you exactly what they wanted—at least without reference to some existing product. Jobs felt intuition as a guiding force was superior to intellect.
It’s hard to argue Jobs’ belief in the face of Apple’s meteoric resurgence. But what do you do when you don’t have that extraordinary gut...
Lean lessons for credit unions from Canadian Tire
For many business leaders, Lean practices are often consigned to the manufacturing sector. Increasingly, though, service-oriented organizations are recognizing the benefits Lean philosophy and approaches can have on their business operations and bottom-line. I came across this insightful...
4 must-read Lean books for every credit union leader
For years, the name Toyota has been synonymous with words like value, quality, productivity and profitability. Much of Toyota’s success is attributed to its management philosophy and practices, widely and simply referred to as “Lean.”
Over the past two years, First West has adopted Lean thinking in its business efforts—and the results are paying off. For us, lean thinking is all...
The birth of their first child should have been one of the happiest experiences of their lives. But for Derek Nakamoto and his wife, their initial joy turned to serious concern when son Jaden was diagnosed with a hole in his heart just three days after entering the world.
Jaden required major surgery at Vancouver’s BC Children’s Hospital – on a heart the size of a walnut. “The hole was 4mm in diameter, which was significant,” says Derek, AVP, continuous...
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