Technology executive who turns skeptics into champions
I turn complex technology initiatives into adopted products, stronger organizations, and measurable business results.
Atlanta, GA (Dunwoody)
r@castagnaro.com · LinkedIn · View the full resume
I've built my career where technology is only half the challenge. The other half is getting people, organizations, and competing interests aligned around something better.
I've done that as President of a self-funded digital government business with a $10M P&L, as a state government transformation executive working across more than 50 agencies, and as a founder building digital identity, payments, and blockchain platforms. The results include $2B+ in annual payment volume, a digital identity platform used by more than 2 million people, seven years of event losses turned into a $1.3M surplus, and new technology businesses built from the ground up.
My approach is simple: find the people with the most urgent problems, prove value early, and let success create its own momentum.
And I still build. From cloud architecture and payments infrastructure to AI-assisted engineering and smart contracts, I stay close enough to the technology to separate what's possible from what's merely promised.
Influence without authority.
Colorado's Department of Revenue didn't want our AI platform. They had their own vendor, and the Governor's office was pressuring adoption. Instead of forcing it, we negotiated: we wouldn't compete if they went mobile-friendly. Eighteen months later they were our second-largest partner, and they brought Public Safety with them.
Commercial leadership and long-term scaling.
I joined Hawaii Information Consortium in 2003, when the whole company had seven staff and was losing money. Over 13 years and three roles it became a 54-person, self-funded business with a $10M P&L, doubled net revenue, and $2B+ a year in payments, and Hawaii went from 43rd to 1st in the nation for online government services.
Financial discipline without breaking the culture.
As SporkDAO's Chief of Staff, I helped put governance and financial controls around the world's largest Web3 event. The 2024 event was its first profitable year after seven years of losses: a $1.3M surplus, with an NPS of 59.6, and the community culture that made it work intact.
I make change easy to say yes to: find the team with the most urgent problem, deliver a visible win, and let that success recruit the next team. Then I build an organization that can carry the work after I leave, promoting from within, developing people deliberately, and handing off what I start.
My current work runs through a few connected ventures. I founded Wampei, a non-custodial stablecoin payments platform, which shares smart-account infrastructure with Unicorns, where I am co-founder and CTO. My consulting practice, WorldChain, carries my contract engagements, including digital identity work for LWYL Studio.
I'm open to the right full-time executive role: CTO, CIO, or technology transformation leadership.
If you're hiring a technology executive, or need someone to make a hard change stick, I'd like to hear about it.