Jake Castanha

Yardi Employee Profile

By Amy Reinholds on Jan 21, 2025 in People

Meet Jake Castanha, an account executive on the senior living sales team. Jake will celebrate his two-year anniversary with Yardi in July 2025, but he’s had a wide range of experiences in the short time he’s been at Yardi, including moving from Santa Barbara to New York City.

Meet Jake Castanha

As an account executive, Castanha sells Yardi Senior Living Suite products to small senior living communities across the West and Central region. He spends his work days calling and emailing prospective clients. He also checks in with current clients to ensure they are satisfied with their experience.  

“I try to take a consultative approach by learning about their business processes, clientele and staff,” he says. “The more I know and learn about them, the better I can advise them on which system will benefit them.” Castanha also schedules software demonstrations for interested senior living providers.

“I occasionally visit senior living communities in person,” Castanha says. “This experience has been invaluable, as I get to meet users and stakeholders and see the real-world impact of what we do.”

The Yardi culture

Castanha shares that the willingness to listen to feedback to improve products is an important aspect of Yardi’s commitment to clients. “Our culture is built on doing right by our clients and delivering what we promise,” he says.

He says this commitment to clients is intertwined with employee teamwork. He appreciates learning from experienced and talented people in leadership positions. “Most people in leadership positions have been here 10 plus years which is a testament to the culture that has been created,” he says.

“While there are a lot of things I enjoy about working at Yardi, the best part is the people. I have met some of my best friends, as well as professional mentors, at Yardi.”

From Santa Barbara to New York City

Before Yardi, Castanha worked in a leasing department for a Santa Barbara property management company and as an English teacher for elementary and middle school students in South Korea. The first equipped him with experience that would help him later at Yardi, and the second gave him the opportunity “to do two things I love: travel and work with children.”

“I took the opportunity to travel, visiting Turkey, Egypt, South Africa and Romania before returning to the US with the intention of getting into software sales. I was extremely fortunate to be hired at Yardi in July 2023.”

In November 2024, Castanha transferred to the New York City office and continues to work on the senior living team. “This was a dream come true for me, I plan to build a new community of friends in the New York City office and enjoy the amazing opportunities in the city.”

Work-life balance

“Yardi has enabled me to have a very healthy work-life balance where at the end of my day, I can explore my other passions,” Castanha says. These include exercising, running, lifting weights, yoga and sports. He also highlights opportunities at Yardi like lunchtime yoga classes, team activities and group participation in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s.

Castanha also enjoys cooking and trying new restaurants. Now in his new home, “I look forward to checking out the museums all over New York and exploring other cities on the East Coast. I also want to see if any of the East Coast beaches can compare to the beautiful beaches in California!”

Learn more about the dynamic members of #TeamYardi on the People page.