Russell Castagnaro

Unicorns, Inc. — Co-Founder & CTO

Denver, CO (Remote)

Leading product and technology for a B2B platform providing enterprise account infrastructure, serving 170+ business customers and 30,000+ end users. AI-first development shop building daily with Claude and OpenAI.

• Lead product strategy and AI-driven development for an enterprise B2B platform serving 170+ business customers and 30,000+ end users
• Built a distributed team across 5 countries with established delivery processes and governance frameworks
• Lead the team's use of generative AI (Claude, OpenAI) across product development, operations, and customer solutions
• Secured $425K in funding; manage product roadmap, compliance, and partner relationships

Related projects: MyUnicornAccount

SporkDAO / ETHDenver — Chief of Staff

Denver, CO

Brought structure, governance, and financial discipline to the world's largest open-source technology event (20,000+ participants from 115 countries) and its member-owned cooperative, while preserving the community culture that made it successful.

• Turned 7 years of losses into a $1.3M surplus in the first profitable year (2024) by implementing financial controls, KPI tracking, and governance (NPS 59.6)
• Directed cross-functional delivery across engineering, product, partnerships, and community teams spanning sponsors, government partners, and global volunteer networks
• Oversaw technology integrations, contracts, and partnerships for a 22,000-attendee event and $6M budget
• Implemented transparency controls so the board and general members could understand the co-op's financial position and effectiveness
• Led contacts with the Colorado Governor's office and state departments

Related projects: ETHDenver 2024

Bufficorn Ventures — Investment Steward

Denver, CO

Led operations for a venture fund focused on emerging-technology startups, advising portfolio companies on AI strategy, roadmap development, and responsible adoption.

• Guided 50+ portfolio companies on integrating AI into products and operations, prioritizing high-impact use cases with clear ROI
• Led investment strategy, due diligence, and sponsor relations for the fund
• Managed the ColoradoJam program, collaborating with Colorado state government to fund and launch pilots
• Built frameworks for evaluating technology readiness, data quality, and go-to-market strategy
• Made build, buy, and partner recommendations for early-stage technology companies

Related projects: ColoradoJam

Colorado Governor's Office of Information Technology — Director of Digital Transformation

Denver, CO

Led statewide digital transformation across 50+ agencies in a large, matrixed organization: digital identity, AI-powered contact centers, cloud-first policy, and adoption won through negotiation rather than mandates.

• Launched myColorado, the most successful state digital ID in the U.S. (2M+ users) and the first DMV-issued digital driver license in the country, built on mobile driver license (MDL) and verifiable-credential standards with Ping Identity SSO
• Scaled myColorado from 25K to 250K users in one month when COVID hit, reaching 750K by end of summer 2020; collaborated with 19 law enforcement agencies to accept it as valid identification
• Migrated 22 call centers from Genesys to Amazon Connect in 4 months, deploying AI omnichannel solutions that cut handling time 40%, proving value center-by-center until demand pulled the rollout forward
• Turned the Department of Revenue from the platform's largest skeptic into its second-largest adopter through negotiation rather than mandates; they brought Public Safety with them
• Deployed COVID vaccination verification integrated with the digital ID for under $500K through partnership with CDPHE
• Defined the state's cloud-first policy focused on AWS and GCP and facilitated remote-work programs before and during COVID
• Managed 7+ concurrent transformation initiatives, earning NASCIO, AAMVA, and GovLoop awards

Related projects: myColorado / Colorado Digital ID, Statewide Contact Center Migration, Colorado COVID Vaccination Verification, ColoradoJam

Wampei, Inc. — CEO & Co-Founder

Denver, CO

Co-founded a peer-to-peer digital payments platform expanding electronic payments to businesses and individuals underserved by traditional banking.

• Owned end-to-end technology strategy, architecture, and delivery as founder-CTO alongside the CEO role
• Built core payments infrastructure supporting invoices, credit cards, cryptocurrency, and ACH transactions
• Led Java and Python software development on AWS, designing cloud-based systems for secure, scalable payment processing
• Implemented security, reliability, and operational controls for regulated financial workflows
• Transitioned the customer base to BRD following acquisition, ensuring continuity and data integrity

Related projects: Wampei Register

NIC Inc. (Tyler Technologies) — Director of Digital Services

Olathe, KS

National strike-team role at the leading provider of eGovernment services to U.S. states.

• Strike team lead on pre-RFP work, RFP responses, and oral arguments for state digital-services adoption
• Subject matter expert on state eGovernment, eCommerce, payments, and licensing initiatives
• Advised on enterprise platform strategy and architecture decisions
• Evangelized electronic government services across state partnerships

Hawaii Information Consortium, LLC (NIC subsidiary) — President

Honolulu, HI

Led the 54-person organization delivering SaaS eGovernment and eCommerce services for all Hawaii state and county agencies, on an enterprise platform processing $2B+ annually.

• Managed a $10M P&L and oversaw $2B+ in annual payment volume across credit cards, ACH, and SWIFT, operating under NACHA rules
• Delivered 120+ active online services across 30+ government agencies, from payments and licensing to permitting and citizen engagement
• Took Hawaii's government services rating from 43rd to 1st in the nation, earning 42 national and international awards including Best State Government Website (2013, 2014)
• Scaled the organization from 18 to 54 staff, building cross-functional teams across engineering, product, operations, and government relations; named Best Place to Work four years by Hawaii Business Magazine
• Migrated 250+ state websites to AWS in 12 months, improving performance, reliability, and security while maintaining uninterrupted public access
• Maintained PCI-DSS, SOC 2, HIPAA, CJIS, and SOX compliance with zero breaches, balancing delivery speed with operational stability
• Launched the first personalized and gamified eGovernment experience in the U.S., increasing citizen engagement and service adoption
• Partnered directly with the Governor's Office, State CTO, Department of Health, and State Procurement Office

Related projects: eHawaii.gov Portal, HIC Payment Engine, Hawaii Department of Health Digital Services, eBench Warrants, Bureau of Conveyances Modernization

Hawaii Information Consortium, LLC (NIC subsidiary) — Director of Portal Operations

Honolulu, HI

Directed end-to-end SaaS eGovernment and eCommerce operations for all Hawaii state and county agencies.

• Executed a rapid infrastructure modernization, migrating all State of Hawaii websites in 4 months and improving uptime, scalability, and security
• Established and enforced HIPAA and SOX compliance programs for regulated health and financial data
• Doubled annual revenue from $2M to $4M through operational efficiency, service expansion, and improved delivery execution
• Scaled the organization from 12 to 18 full-time staff plus 8 consultants while maintaining service continuity

Related projects: eHawaii.gov Portal, HIC Payment Engine

Hawaii Information Consortium, LLC (NIC subsidiary) — Director of Software Development

Honolulu, HI

Led full-lifecycle SaaS eGovernment and eCommerce platform development for all Hawaii state and county agencies.

• Modernized the legacy technology stack by initiating the migration from Perl to Java, establishing a scalable, maintainable foundation
• Designed and delivered the centralized payment processing platform handling invoices, credit cards, and eChecks across government services
• Transformed the engineering culture from siloed development to collaborative, delivery-focused teams; established engineering standards and code-review practices
• Scaled the engineering organization from 5 to 9 developers, introducing structure, standards, and sustainable practices

Related projects: eHawaii.gov Portal, HIC Payment Engine

4Charity.com — Chief Mentor

Honolulu, HI

Built the first SaaS electronic donation and payment processing platform (ACH and credit card) for 501(c)(3) nonprofits, on Oracle WebLogic (Java). The platform became the core of Network for Good, which acquired the company.

• Led hands-on architecture and development of a first-of-its-kind enterprise donation platform on Oracle WebLogic (Java)
• Led the technical team of 7 building enterprise donation and payment processing systems, including real-time and stored-payment processing
• Designed workflows for donor-advised giving, fund accounting, and nonprofit disbursements
• Partnered with the Hawaii Community Foundation on donations processing and fund-management integration
• Platform became the core of Network for Good following acquisition

Related projects: 4Charity Donation Platform

Synctank Solutions, Inc. — Principal

Honolulu, HI

Enterprise architecture and engineering consulting for Fortune 500 clients including Bank of Hawaii, Canon, Samsung, and the State of California.

• Provided whole-lifecycle enterprise project stewardship, from kickoff and architecture through delivery and post-mortems
• Acted as an extension of BEA Systems Professional Services for Pacific Rim clients
• Created training curricula and delivered training on new technologies and development methodologies
• Spoke at multiple technology conferences and worked to bring high-tech business to Hawaii

Datahouse.com — Chief Technical Architect

Honolulu, HI

Hands-on Java and eCommerce engineering and architecture consulting for enterprise clients across Hawaii and the mainland.

• Architected and deployed cross-application business intelligence solutions integrating PeopleSoft, Oracle Financials, CICS, and DB2
• Implemented Enterprise Java solutions and transitioned them to client staff, acting as application design mentor for client teams
• Developed and sold a Lotus Notes-hosted, Java-based reporting framework
• Clients included BEA WebLogic, Bank of Hawaii, Hawaii Department of Education, Kamehameha Schools, Bishop Estate, and Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound

Claremont Technology Group — Chief Architect

Beaverton, OR

Early-web enterprise consulting, including the first Java-based e-commerce website in production.

• Designed and developed the first Java-based e-commerce website, for AT&T Universal Card (1996)
• Built software interfacing with CICS, Oracle, Sybase, and MQ Series systems
• Created a web-based press kit and Internet publishing distribution system for Sun Microsystems
• Worked on early-phase engagements with Intel and Bank of America

Related projects: AT&T Universal Card E-Commerce Site