Kastle names former Microsoft, Sonos tech executive as chief technology officer

Kastle, a leader in property technology and managed security, today announced that tech veteran, Al Valvano, has joined the executive team as Chief Technology Officer. Valvano brings a track record of strong leadership with more than 25 years of success in business and technical innovation at some of the world's leading technology companies.

Prior to joining Kastle, Valvano was most recently Vice President of Software Engineering at Sonos, the leader in sound experience technology, where he spent over 6 years building a robust portfolio of best-in-class wireless home audio products, software, and services - including Roam, Arc, Move and Sonos Radio -- as well as an expansive ecosystem of partners including IKEA, Amazon, Google, Spotify, and Apple. He also helped lead the company through mid-stage growth and IPO.

Prior to Sonos, Valvano led a variety of product and engineering teams during his 15 years with Microsoft, including nearly 8 years with Xbox, helping scale Xbox Live, shipping numerous Xbox consoles, hardware & accessories, as well as leading release and readiness for hundreds of AAA games, apps, services, client and live events.

"I'm beyond excited to join the industry leader in property technology and services, especially one that is so focused on enhancing both the safety and delight of its customers and users", said Valvano. "The opportunity to create new solutions, heighten the user experience and simplify the operational performance of the built environment is super exciting. The next decade will bring enormous innovation to this space and I'm grateful for the opportunity to contribute."

Valvano inherits the Chief Technology Officer role from Mohammad Soleimani, Kastle's current technology and industry thought leader. Soleimani has been named Kastle's first Chief Innovation Officer after fourteen years in the CTO role where he led Kastle's transformation to become the leading cloud-based smart access security technology provider nationally. This new role enables Soleimani to focus more on leading Kastle's efforts to develop the next generation access control platform, building on his leadership roles in industry governing groups such as Physical Security Interoperability Alliance (PSIA) and Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) to ensure access credentials can be used seamlessly across disparate buildings and tenant spaces.

"We are thrilled to have Al join our leadership team and bring his world-class background in developing user-centric technology products and in scaling technology platforms to Kastle. His leadership will elevate the level of experience we enable in the spaces we serve around the world and builds on the remarkable legacy of innovation that Mohammad Soleimani began" said Kastle CEO, Haniel Lynn.