BIOGRAPHY

DJ Duarte

Owner & Founder, Makoto Flow, Ltd., Lwakuni-shi, Japan

DJ Duarte 34 years as a Global Optimization Expert & Leadership Coach has enabled him to influence the practical application, facilitation and implementation of business processes and systems as well as the development of leaders with the right mindsets & behaviors to support sustainable change.

He has worked in a variety of industries from manufacturing (automotive, construction, electronics & medical devices), service (resorts, casinos & retail stores), healthcare (out-patient care & documentation), aerospace (maintenance & servicing), logistics and back office/shared service environments (finance, HR, IT, & procurement). His expertise spans 7 continents, 40 different cultures, 17 different industries and several leading global consulting firms.

Through a combination of TPS, TPM, TQM and Talent Development principles & practices, DJ enables companies to achieve unimaginable business results. Industry experience: Aerospace, Automotive, BPO, Confectionary, Construction, Flavors & Fragrances, Engineering, Healthcare, Hospitality, Logistics, Manufacturing, Medical Devices, Oil & Gas, Shared Services, Shipping, Telecoms, etc.

DJ previously ran the consulting arm of Makoto Investments& Kaizen Institute here in Asia with 5 different sites. This was preceded by a stint in another management consulting firm Gemba Research as a Sr.Consultant managing and implementing global optimization projects.

He started his career with the Department of Defense as the Dir. of Innovation & Improvement managing the implementation of Strategic Initiatives to reduce Costs & improve the Customer Experiences in Japan, Korea & the West Coast of the USA.

DJ is a very influential coach and mentor to more than 25 global lean management professionals. As a professional speaker, he engages many annual global events as a thought leader on the topics of Lean Management, Leadership & Changing Mindsets & Behaviors with TPS.

His extensive experience and certifications include Strategy Facilitation, Leadership, Lean Management, Lean Six Sigma, Total Quality Management and Business Process Re-engineering to name a few.

The Toyota Production System must enable four critical points: Just-in-TIme (Takt, Flow & Pull Thinking), Jidoka (Built in Quality & Leveling), Total Productive Maintenance (Focused 4 Steps & Full Models 8 Steps), Total Quality Management (COPQ, QC, QA and QM); Talent Development (Skills Matrix, Plan & Continuum of Certs.) DJ holds a BS - University of Arkansas and a AS - University of Maryland, USA, plus completed the Executive Leadership Development Program from the Dept. of Defense a 1 year global program in 2005.