Darren
Akai

The most AI-forward role of my career. Led enterprise-wide SCM and Change Planning for CIBC's Client Servicing Technology portfolio — 45 applications, 9 direct reports across 2 teams, and a $1.3M software budget. Embedded AI automation directly into how software was governed and delivered.

• Championed AI-augmented SDLC practices using CIBC's internal AI platform to accelerate GitHub Actions script authoring, saving 15–20 hours/month per application — a documented $432K annual saving.
• Built a custom Jira-based change governance solution that delivered zero change collisions across the entire CST portfolio since implementation.
• Introduced HashiCorp Vault to automate secrets and credential lifecycle management, generating $72K in annual savings.
• Led migration to GitHub Enterprise Cloud (GHEC), achieving $95K in annual savings while modernizing SCM posture across 45 applications.
• Aligned change initiatives with corporate objectives in partnership with senior executives across Enterprise Change Management and Technology Infrastructure.

Six years managing two high-performing teams — 8 DevOps engineers and a dedicated Change Planning function — responsible for CI/CD pipeline operations and production change governance across 45 applications. This is where I introduced AI-driven automation into CIBC's delivery fabric.

• Introduced AI-driven build/release automation, achieving $520K in annual savings and a 100% reduction in deployment failures.
• Governed 45,000+ annual production changes in a 2,000+ application bank environment — with zero cross-team collision impact.
• Implemented a structured change governance framework that decreased unplanned outages by 18% and materially improved release predictability.
• Built and mentored a team of CI/CD specialists who became trusted partners across multiple lines of business.

Owned Performance Testing Services demand management and roadmap — introducing cloud-based testing strategies and continuous improvement that dramatically accelerated throughput.

• Reduced testing backlog by 40% and improved resource allocation efficiency by 10%.
• Spearheaded a cloud-based testing roadmap, achieving 10% cost savings through on-demand environment provisioning.
• Cut testing turnaround times from 10 to 6 days — a 40% cycle time reduction.

Supported the Compass/AIM program across 5 business portfolios, managing environment lifecycles across 3 concurrent releases with improved delivery accuracy.

• Managed full environment lifecycle (DIT → SIT → UAT → PTE → Production) across 3 concurrent release streams.
• Implemented demand management and pre-intake processes, reducing scheduling conflicts and improving accuracy.

Managed a team of 9 supporting development and QA for Retail Branch applications — $800K budget, 4 major releases annually. Received the CIBC Achiever Award for leadership and innovation.

• Delivered $89K in annual savings through an alternative hardware maintenance strategy.
• Partnered with Development, QA, and PMO to deliver 4 major releases annually with improved on-time delivery.

Led Retail Branch Technology with $1M capital budgets. Honoured as Mentor of the Year in 2006 — two direct reports subsequently received the CIBC President's Annual Achiever Award.

Built my technical foundation at one of Canada's most storied technology companies. Recipient of the Nortel President's Award of Excellence — the company's highest recognition for technical achievement.