Daisuke Watanabe
SB OAI Japan GK / SoftBank Corp. / LY Corporation
Courses offered
5.00 out of 5 stars (2 ratings)
About
Certified Scrum Alliance Trainer (CSAT) and Certified Team Coach (CTC) working at the intersection of Generative AI, software engineering, semiconductors, and organizational development.
I currently serve as Head of Engineering at SB OAI Japan, contributing to Generative AI product development and engineering organization design, while also engaging with the SoftBank Group ASI Strategy and LY Corporation (Advertising & Science organizations). In parallel, I support national talent initiatives such as the National Institute of Technology (KOSEN) Semiconductor Talent Development Project.
I am the only Japanese CSAT, a Certified Team Coach (CTC), and serve as Japan Chapter Leader of Agile Coaches Alliance as well as an Accredited Team Coach (ATC). My work focuses on enabling sustainable business outcomes through sound engineering practices, leadership development, and agile ways of working grounded in real-world product development.
I began my career in 1994 as a UNIX/C programmer in traditional waterfall environments. In 2000, I encountered the Agile Manifesto, which fundamentally changed my view of software development. Since then, I have continuously supported teams and leaders through Scrum, XP, Lean, and DevOps, not as abstract frameworks, but as practical tools for building resilient organizations and high-performing teams.
My expertise spans semiconductor engineering, media and mass communication, advertising, telecommunications, AI and natural language processing, finance and fintech, social gaming, e-commerce, education, integrated control systems, security products, data centers, and workflow automation. I have hands-on experience with C, Go, Perl, Node.js, Java, Ruby on Rails, React, UML, and SQL, alongside agile methodologies such as Scrum, XP, Lean, and DevOps.
My guiding belief is that “the essence of software development lies in the practice of human relationships.” I believe that strong engineering outcomes emerge from trust, empathy, learning, and healthy organizational systems, and that society improves when people meet, grow, and create together.
After graduating from Kobe National College of Technology with a major in semiconductor and software engineering, I spent eight years at Nippon Television Network, developing and managing large-scale, mission-critical systems such as Hakone Ekiden live coverage and national election reporting. I later served as CTO and executive engineering leader in listed and high-growth companies, including Gunosy, before joining Yahoo! JAPAN in 2018.
At Yahoo! JAPAN and later LINE Yahoo, I led development of major consumer platforms including the Top Page, News, Weather & Disaster services, emergency response systems, and COVID-19 information hubs. I also directed media BCP initiatives, organizational strategy for advertising and marketing platforms with over 1,000 engineers, and a technology research office reporting directly to executive management. I later transitioned into Generative AI strategy and AI development leadership roles, leading to my current position.
In addition to corporate leadership, I serve as a lecturer, advisor, and coach across education, government, and industry. My activities include teaching Generative AI at Tokyo Metropolitan College of Industrial Technology, advising Shibuya City on startup and government DX initiatives, supporting semiconductor talent development at KOSEN, and coaching leaders and engineers across Prime-listed companies, public institutions, and startups.
Certifications include CSAT, CTC, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, and Certified LeSS Practitioner.
For more insights into my career journey and contributions:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/daisukewatanabe/
Organizations
Experience and services
- Courses taught: 2
- Trainer since: 2025
- Additional services
- Open to co-training
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Career history
- 2026-01-01 - present - SB OAI Japan GK (VP,Head of Engineering)
- 2025-08-01 - present - SoftBank Corp. (Group ASI Strategy Office)
- 2023-10-01 - present - LY Corporation (Head of the Technology Research Office)
- 2010-01-04 - 2012-12-28 - AXELMARK,INC. (Chief of Development Div.)
- 2013-01-07 - 2015-02-28 - MACROMILL, INC. (Manager of Development Div.)
- 2015-03-01 - 2018-09-30 - Gunosy Inc. (Head of Development Div.)
- 2018-10-01 - 2023-09-30 - Yahoo Japan Corporation (Head of the Technology Research Office)
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Industries
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Area of expertise
My certifications
