DAN NISHIKAWA
FOUNDING PRINCIPAL
West Wai Capital LLC (“WWC”) was founded in Honolulu, Hawaii by Dan Nishikawa in October 2024. After seven years as Executive Vice President and head of Commercial Real Estate (“CRE”) Lending at First Hawaiian Bank, Dan formed West Wai Capital Partners to provide CRE services in Hawaii and U.S. Mainland. Dan vast CRE background, work experience, and leadership in Construction, Development, and Lending makes WWC uniquely qualified to provide a number of professional services.
FOUNDING PRINCIPAL
DAN NISHIKAWA
West wai services:
- CRE Lending Senior and Mezzanine Loan Originations
- CRE Development Partner or Consultant
- Owner Representation
- Bank Consulting
- CRE Expert Witness
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
CONSTRUCTION (1985-1997)
Dan has a Bachelor of Science degree in Construction Management from California State University, Long Beach and he was a licensed General Contractor in CA. While attending Pepperdine University Law School, Dan started his construction career at Peck/Jones Construction in Los Angels and Chicago where worked on several Landmark construction projects where he honed his Project Management, Estimating, and Pre-Construction skills. Dan also worked as a Project Manager at Koll Construction, Cove Development, and McClier/AECOM inSouthern California.
CRE Lending (1997-2006)
While at McClier, Dan was assigned to help Fremont Investment & Loan (NYSE:FMT) complete two REO projects. Dan was asked to join FMT to help develop its CRE Construction Lending program and he helped open eight Regional Offices, including the Hawaii Office in 1999. FMT became The CRE loan portfolio grew to over $3.5B in loans. As Senior Vice President with oversight of Construction Originations, Asset Management, Loan Servicing and Special Assets. Dan was a Senior Management Executive at FMT when he left the bank in 2007 before the CRE loan portfolio was sold to iStar Financial (NYSE:STAR).
CRE Development (2006-2017):
Dan’s next chapter of his career was in CRE development. Dan was a Partner at Woodridge Capital in Century City and OliverMcMillan in San Diego. At Woodridge Capital, Dan worked on resort and condo development projects in Honolulu. Dan joined OM in 2007 where he was President of OM Pacific Rim and head of Business Development in the US Mainland and his successes include 399 Fremont, Buckhead Atlanta, and 6th & Broadway Nashville. In Hawaii, Dan lead OM with the development of Pacifica Honolulu and Symphony Honolulu, and pre-development for Liliha Waikiki. Dan was a partner at OM until the company was sold to Brookfield in 2017.
Bank Executive (2017-2024):
First Hawaiian Bank (NASDAQ:FHB) recruited Dan to head the CRE Lending Division after they became publicly traded in 2016. As Executive Vice President, Dan helped grow the bank’s CRE loan portfolio from $1.5B to over $3.5B in seven years. Dan brought a number of large CRE relationships to the bank, and he established FHB as the leading construction and LIHTC lender in Hawaii. Dan’s Mainland CRE experience was instrumental in developing the bank’s Mainland CRE Loan Participation program which started in 2018 and grew to over $1.0B in commitments in 2024. Dan’s was a leader at the bank and in the community, where he served on the Boards for the Boys & Girls Club of Hawaii, Blood Bank of Hawaii, and Hawaii Opera Theater. Dan is also a Governor for the Japanese American National Museum (JANM) and Executive Committee for the Go For Broke National Education Center (GFBNEC). Dan is also a Member of Waialae Country Club.
CONTACT
CONTACT
CONTACT
West Wai
720 Kapiolani Blvd, Unit 304 Honolulu, HI 96813
(808) 726-6118
© West Wai. All Rights Reserved. Credits.