Leonardo Del Castillo | Microsoft Alumni Voices

In this candid Microsoft Alumni Voices conversation, Leonardo “Leo” Del Castillo shares how a childhood passion for taking things apart led to a 26‑year career shaping products from ActiMates interactive toys to the original Xbox, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. Hear the inside story of midnight problem‑solving, bold hardware bets, legendary team culture, and the “Red Ring of Death” crisis that transformed how Microsoft builds hardware. Leo also opens up about leadership, mentorship, cross‑disciplinary engineering, and the thrill of jumping from consoles to quantum computing—and eventually to startup life.

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