“Lean Guru” Masaaki Imai to visit New Zealand in March 2010
Founder of KAIZEN Institute to share LEAN management insights
at three major centres
AUCKLAND, 31 December 2009 – Masaaki Imai, founder of the KAIZEN Institute, will be visiting New Zealand from the 1st to
5th of March next year to visit the Kaizen Institute New Zealand team and some of their key clients. He will also share
insights on the KAIZEN philosophy and LEAN Management principles at a public seminar in Auckland.
The KAIZEN Institute is a global specialist in consulting, training, benchmarking and qualification for companies and
organisations throughout Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa and America. Based on the KAIZEN Management System – which is
inspired by the standard-setting Toyota Production System (TPS) for organisational efficiency – the KAIZEN Institute
aims to help clients improve short and long term flexibility, capacity and efficiency with a minimum of capital
investment.
Starting in 1950 bringing Japanese managers on tours of American plants to learn strategies for high productivity, Mr
Imai became the first corporate headhunter and consultant to major Japanese corporations striving for a competitive
advantage. By the 1980s, Mr Imai became the world’s foremost international consultant in the Japanese advantage in
manufacturing and business processes which propelled Japan to the forefront of the global economy.
Mr Imai pioneered the KAIZEN philosophy, which is to make simple, common-sense improvements and refinements to critical
end-to-end business processes supporting the overall strategy of the organisation. Known as the “Lean Guru” and the
father of continuous improvement (CI), Mr Imai has been a pioneer and leader in spreading the KAIZEN philosophy
internationally.
In keeping with his philosophy of continuous improvement, Mr. Imai founded Kaizen Institute in 1985, now known as Kaizen
Institute Consulting Group (KICG). He continues to play a significant role as the ambassador and visionary of the
organization, while actively participating in conferences around the world to share the philosophy of KAIZEN LEAN.
Mr Imai’s visit to New Zealand will include stops at Auckland, Hamilton and Christchurch.
ENDS