Gene Samburg, founder of Falls Church, Virginia-based Kastle Systems, has died at age 83.
Samburg may be best-known for the building security cards and fobs carried by thousands of D.C.-area office workers, and tens of thousands more across the country.
He founded Kastle Systems more than 50 years ago, capitalizing on his experience in technology and security to build what has become one of the largest building security companies in the country.
No cause for his death was reported. An obituary said he died peacefully at his home in Arlington on Jan. 14.
Samburg was named Ernst & Young’s “Master Entrepreneur of the Year” in 1999, and one of the “Top Entrepreneurs of the Year” in 2005 by Security Sales and Integration.
A longtime D.C. resident, Samburg worked at Westinghouse Security Systems in D.C., where he collaborated with the U.S. Secret Service for security systems at the White House, Camp David and four presidential residences.
He graduated from Cornell University in 1964 with an electrical engineering degree.
Outside of work, Samburg served on the board of directors at Arena Stage and as a member of the Gridiron Club.
Samburg sold Kastle in 2007 to D.C. venture capitalist Mark Ein, owner of the Washington Kastles tennis team and limited minority partner of the Washington Commanders.
Kastle has since grown to offices in more than 20 cities in the U.S. and Australia.
The company became key for go-to information on how many people were working on-site during the COVID-19 pandemic with its “Getting America Back to Work” office barometer, which — to this day — measures daily office worker occupancy based on Kastle Systems entries.
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