About Us
We are a team of specialists in finance, AgriTech, Web3, blockchain development, coffee and gold, as well as multi-award winning entrepreneurs and humanitarians with experience in large-scale international projects
The Kaldi Mission
The Kaldi mission is to revolutionize the green specialty coffee market via a new value-creating coffee ecosystem. Powered by novel proprietary blockchain technology, KaldiMarket™ offers true seed-to-sale traceability and a unique suite of benefits and incentives to farmers and their customers, revolutionizing an annual $50+ billion green specialty coffee market.
Meet the Team
Professor Stefan Allesch-Taylor CBE FKC FRSA
Chair, Kaldi Foundation
Zara Shirwan
Chief Operating Officer, Kaldi Company & Global Comms Leadership
Rachel Hillel
Chief Operating Officer, KaldiMarket
Ashley Lopez
Head of Economic Integration
Daniel Ball
Chief Technology Officer, Kaldi Company
Katie Shelton
Finance & Tax Strategy
Leadership
Kelly Fenemore
Chief Operating Officer, Kaldi Gold
Kawal Arora
Blockchain & AI/ML Leadership
Kian Sarreshteh
Crypto-as-a-Service Infrastructure Leadership
Stan Hammett
NFT & DeFi Integration Leadership
Michael Chuter
Non-Profit & Social Impact Leadership
Jonny Mulligan
Sustainability Strategy
Leadership
Bryant Thornton
Cybersecurity & Compliance Leadership
Jesse Anglen
Software & Blockchain Leadership
Dr. Miguel Tirado
Sustainable Development Leadership
Sunil Arora
Logistics Technology Leadership
Fixing a broken economic model
Kaldi is building a transformative economic model from the ground up, responsive to the evolving dynamic needs of the global commodities economy. We partner with best-in-class, adopting DePIN strategies to deliver change.
We are committed to delivering transparency, traceability and enhanced value for everyone in the Kaldi ecosystem from commodity producer to every single Kaldicoin holder.
A new economic model
Kaldi is building a transformative economic model from the ground up, responsive to the evolving dynamic needs of the global commodities economy.
We are committed to delivering transparency, traceability and enhanced value for everyone in the Kaldi ecosystem from commodity producer to every Kaldicoin holder
Professor Stefan Allesch-Taylor CBE FKC FRSA
Chair, Kaldi Foundation
Stefan is a financier, serial entrepreneur, Fellow of and Professor of the Practice of Entrepreneurship at King's College London. A decorated philanthropist, he is internationally recognized as a leading advocate of using entrepreneurship as a force for positive social change and social mobility. He has co-founded and chairs several award-winning U.K. and international charities, providing the relief of poverty for over 2.5 million people. Stefan is authorized and regulated by the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority (FCA.)
First serving as an Executive Chair of a U.K. public company at age 27, Stefan has since invested in, co-founded, and served as Chair or CEO of 100+ new companies operating in more than 15 countries. Over three decades, he has built and led teams to create businesses with thousands of employees in sectors including advertising, property, technology, banking, medical, financial services, retail, asset management, agriculture, blockchain, hospitality, and health services. Over the last five years, he has been at the forefront of innovation in industry, answering the urgent calls of social and climate change across the world and developing companies to meet the challenges of a rapidly evolving and complex global business landscape.
Stefan is one of the leading voices encouraging an entrepreneurial mindset to effect positive social change in the U.K. and Africa. This culminated in water charity Pump Aid, a charity he has Chaired since 2010, being awarded 'Charity of the Year 2017' (International Aid & Development) at The Charity Awards, the most prestigious awards scheme in the charity sector in the U.K. Pump Aid was recognized for the second time as 'Highly Commended' at the 2022 Awards for using entrepreneurship as a proven, powerful humanitarian tool. He has established a network of early childhood development centers (ECDs) in impoverished townships in South Africa as Chair of the Afri-CAN Children's Charity, a charity he founded in 2008 to provide education and nutrition to over 3,000 children annually via a sustainable entrepreneurial approach. He has also led interventions for the support of the homeless in London and the protection of children from trauma and human trafficking in Ukraine.
Appointed as the first Professor of the Practice of Entrepreneurship at King’s College London, through King's 20 and King's College London, Stefan has launched over 50 new startups with grant funding over six years and jointly pioneered, in partnership with King's College London, ground-breaking research in neuroscience and entrepreneurship to establish the traits of an entrepreneurial brain. Stefan has been named one of 'London's Most Influential People' in the London Evening Standard Progress 1000 List for his work in Charity, Philanthropy, and Social Impact. In 2014 he was appointed a Commander of the Order of The British Empire (CBE) for philanthropic and charitable services in the U.K. and Africa. In 2020 he was awarded a King's College London Fellowship for 'outstanding service.'
As Chair of the Kaldi Foundation, Stefan oversees the Kaldi strategy.
Daniel Ball
Chief Technology Officer, Kaldi Company
Daniel Ball is a technologist, award-winning entrepreneur, and distinguished former military intelligence leader with expertise in complex software integration, blockchain, telecommunications, network architecture, AI, and big data analysis. He started his executive leadership path at T-Mobile, where he led the training and launch of specialized technology teams and business units to support the very first smartphones and the first rollout of a fiber optic-backed 4G network in the U.S.
Afterward, Daniel joined the U.S. Army as a Signals Intelligence Analyst (SIGINT). Recognized for his meritorious service in national-level intelligence and counterterrorism missions, Daniel earned the distinction of back-to-back National Security Agency/Central Service Europe and Africa's Military Performer of the Year for 2014, 2015, and 2016, a rigorous selection that considers service members from all branches of the U.S. military. While serving as a Target Digital Network Developer on classified operations at the National Security Agency (NSA), Daniel distinguished himself by conducting fused intelligence analysis and operating as a focal point for coalition intelligence operations. He built a strong knowledge base and subject matter expertise in various cross-intelligence disciplines in addition to SIGINT, including COMINT, GEOINT, MASINT, and OSINT. In the private sector, Daniel has over a decade of experience on the forward edge of technology engineering and integration. He is a serial tech-entrepreneur, having founded 10 companies between AI, distributed ledger/blockchain, agritech, medtech, scientific instrumentation, and cybersecurity. He has years of experience managing high-performing teams, complex projects, and multidiscipline technology integration initiatives. He’s authored numerous whitepapers and tradecraft documents as an inventor and innovator of new technologies and applications.
As CTO of Kaldi Company, Daniel oversees the technological strategy to deliver operational objectives, ensures the security and scalability of blockchain solutions, and aligns tech initiatives with business goals to drive growth and innovation.
Jesse Anglen
Software and Blockchain Leadership, Kaldi Company Ltd
Jesse has worked with entrepreneurs in the startup scene for over ten years, specifically focusing on software development for web3 projects. He started his professional career in Real Estate, using the proceeds of his company's sale to fund a move into blockchain and cryptocurrency in 2013, where he worked with early pioneers, including Vitalik Buterin at Ethereum and Charlie Lee at Litecoin.
Jesse co-founded Rapid Innovation in 2019, a web3 software development firm employing over 300 professionals. His passion is for interventionist and cause-driven initiatives that significantly disrupt traditional sectors, leveraging the full potential of decentralization and web3 offered by distributed ledger technology.
Jesse joins the Kaldi team with a proven track record of successfully executing complicated blockchain and web3 projects, scaling in scope from early protocols like Ethereum to the latest technology in web3 NFT-driven communities. His expertise in overseeing the core KaldiMarket™ buildout is a critical strategic advantage to Kaldi's entry into the blockchain and cryptocurrency sector.
Zara Shirwan
Chief Operating Officer, Kaldi Company & Global Comms Leadership
With 20 years of experience in international public relations and corporate reputation management throughout her career, Zara has led and consulted on numerous campaigns and projects for a diverse range of clients, including tech startups, global corporations, and crypto exchanges. Her specialization in media strategy, crisis communications, and corporate messaging has made her a trusted advisor to businesses facing complex communication challenges.
In addition to her operational leadership, Zara has served as a personal profile advisor, offering strategic counsel to philanthropists, entrepreneurs, celebrities, and CEOs. She has a BA (Hons), MA, and MPhil from Cambridge University, as well as an MSc from University College London (UCL).
For the past eight years, Zara has worked with Professor Stefan Allesch-Taylor in strategic advisory and operational capacities. As the Director of Communications for the Kaldi Group, Zara also spearheads global communications strategy, ensuring consistent and effective messaging across the organization.
As Chief Operating Officer of Kaldi Company, Zara is responsible for delivering the Company’s strategy.
Sustainability Strategy Leadership, KaldiMarket, Inc.
Professor Miguel Tirado
Sustainable Partner Development Leadership, KaldiMarket, Inc.
Dr. Tirado's career spans business, academia, and government service. He has been a Founding Faculty and Graduate Dean at California State University Monterey and held positions involving international marketing and negotiations, strategic planning, executive development, regulatory oversight, and telemedicine. These roles include European Marketing Director for Pacific Telesis International, Director of Management Development for Pacific Bell, International Sales Manager for the American International Group, and Economic Development Officer with the U.S. Foreign Aid Program. After joining a Silicon Valley consulting group founded by fellow Stanford Graduate School of Business alumni, he worked with companies including Compaq Computer, Agilent Technologies, and Hewlett Packard.
Dr. Tirado has previously served as Special Assistant to the Director of the Inter-American Foundation established by the U.S. Congress to administer foreign aid to agricultural cooperatives in Latin America. Last year they oversaw investments of over $121 million directly and an additional $157.6m from counterparties in areas including sustainable agriculture and food security, community asset mobilization, civic management, human rights, and natural resource management. These investments into over 5,300 small businesses and enterprises directly benefited over 3.5 million community members.
Since forming his own management and marketing consultancy firm, he has served domestic and international clients such as Banco Nacional de Mexico, the Ital Orient Group, Bricklin Automobile Industries, U.C. San Francisco, the Department of the Navy, and the California State Legislature.
His recent focus on the uses of distributed ledger technology resulted in co-founding the Crypto Scholars Forum, bringing together experts in the application of blockchain technology. Dr. Tirado was also recently selected by the Stanford Graduate School of Business to serve on its ACT Management Consulting team offering his marketing and management expertise to leaders of emerging MedTech companies in the Bay Area.
Dr. Tirado has previously worked extensively with farm cooperatives in Latin America during his time in US Foreign Aid. At Kaldi, Dr. Tirado is actively involved in developing relationships with cooperatives and farming groups across Latin America and Africa and providing guidance on building viable, sustainable development models for application within the Kaldi ecosystem.
Katie Shelton
Finance & Tax Strategy Leadership
Katie is an award-winning accountant who began her career in corporate restructuring for the leading global corporate investigation and risk consulting firm, Kroll Associates. Katie has been advising and raising funds for quoted and unquoted companies in the City of London for 20 years. She is authorized and regulated by the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and is an experienced financial markets specialist. She is also a non-executive director of various companies and is the Head of Audit Committees.
Katie obtained a first-class BSc (Hons) in Business Economics and Finance from Loughborough University. Katie has served on several Boards with Professor Stefan Allesch-Taylor over the past ten years. Leading finance and tax strategy for Kaldi, Katie is responsible for financial reporting and compliance.
Bryant Thornton
Cybersecurity and Compliance Leadership, Kaldi Company Ltd
Bryant is an experienced cyber professional and a passionate entrepreneur. He began his career as a Signals Intelligence Analyst in the U.S. Army, working closely on digital communication protocols, threat analysis, and big data analysis.
After leaving the military, Bryant joined a DC-based government contracting firm as a cyber threat analyst. He was a founding team member of Dark Wolf, a technology-focused spinoff from a larger firm. He worked for Dark Wolf in a senior analyst position, supporting early company wins, including securing first place at the cyber security and hacking event BSides DC 2016 and 2018 and winner of DEFCON 2017.
Bryant is an expert on cyber threat hunting, data analysis, blockchain security, and blockchain project viability analysis. After nearly a decade in government contracting, he started his own consulting company, later acquired by Elysian Intelligence - a blockchain and web3 specialist firm. Now, as a senior partner, he specializes in directing development focusing on security-minded tradecraft and distributed ledger protocols in Agritech, Fintech, Medtech, Adtech, and DeFi.
At Kaldi, Bryant is responsible for compliance due diligence, cybersecurity strategy, and policy integration.
Sunil Arora
Maritime and Blockchain Logistics Leadership, KaldiMarket, Inc.
Sunil has over 25 years of leadership experience as an engineer and a strategic finance executive in marine shipping, private equity, and computational fluid dynamics (CFD). He has worked at senior levels in Fortune 100 companies, including B.P. Energy, CMA CGM, and global private equity intelligence company PEI, as well as launched several of his own companies. One notable company includes the award-winning blockchain-based asset tokenization platform, Shipfinex, and its accompanying cryptocurrency, Marine Coin. Shipfinex provides a web3 infrastructure that brings real-world assets on-chain in the form of maritime ships. His expertise in the intersection of technology with traditional industries like maritime shipping and global logistics positions him as a top authority on blockchain, A.I., and computational fluid dynamic applications for advancing and innovating in one of the oldest logistic sectors still operating today.
Sunil is also involved with ongoing activities and programs as an Alumni of MIT Sloan Artificial Intelligence and Oxford University’s Fintech Programme. He serves as a Doctoral Committee Member of the Indian Maritime University and holds an MBA from Aston University, U.K., as well as B.S. in Marine Engineering from DMET, India.
Sunil brings a wealth of experience to Kaldi on the logistics arm of the business, with 30+ years in the maritime shipping and export industry and 20+ years innovating in technology integration in the sector.
Kian Sarreshteh
Crypto-as-a-Service Infrastructure Leadership, Kaldi Company Ltd
Kian has worked in FinTech, Blockchain, and cryptocurrency since 2015. He has extensive experience leading the technology builds and distribution for innovative products, including banking apps, financial wellness apps, cloud-native blockchain products, blockchain databases, and digital asset trading and fulfillment products.
In 2015, Kian founded an I.T. recruiting and consulting company focused on fintech and crypto and transformed it into a multi-million-dollar operation. At the same time, he acquired a 35-year-old background check company that focused on regulated industries, including financial services. He led new product development, including developing a blockchain database to store background check records. Before his departure, Kian was instrumental in the company's 50% increase in revenue.
In 2020, Kian founded CryptoFi, Inc., a Crypto-as-a-Service (CaaS) company enabling financial institutions to integrate retail and commercial cryptocurrency solutions, which is his focus today. Kian brings his extensive networks and expertise in managing relationships with Digital Asset Market Makers, Qualified Custodians, and on/off ramp channels for digital assets to Kaldi. As the stakeholder strategy lead, his focus is on increasing Kaldi's access through these networks and advising on tech solutions for integration into key market channels.
He has a Dual Bachelor’s in marketing and International Studies from the University of Missouri.
Kian Sarreshteh
Crypto-as-a-Service Infrastructure Leadership, Kaldi Company Ltd
Kian has worked in FinTech, Blockchain, and cryptocurrency since 2015. He has extensive experience leading the technology builds and distribution for innovative products, including banking apps, financial wellness apps, cloud-native blockchain products, blockchain databases, and digital asset trading and fulfillment products.
In 2015, Kian founded an I.T. recruiting and consulting company focused on fintech and crypto and transformed it into a multi-million-dollar operation. At the same time, he acquired a 35-year-old background check company that focused on regulated industries, including financial services. He led new product development, including developing a blockchain database to store background check records. Before his departure, Kian was instrumental in the company's 50% increase in revenue.
In 2020, Kian founded CryptoFi, Inc., a Crypto-as-a-Service (CaaS) company enabling financial institutions to integrate retail and commercial cryptocurrency solutions, which is his focus today. Kian brings his extensive networks and expertise in managing relationships with Digital Asset Market Makers, Qualified Custodians, and on/off ramp channels for digital assets to Kaldi. As the stakeholder strategy lead, his focus is on increasing Kaldi's access through these networks and advising on tech solutions for integration into key market channels.
He has a Dual Bachelor’s in marketing and International Studies from the University of Missouri.
Kawal Arora
Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence Leadership, Kaldi Company Ltd
Kawal is a software engineer and specialist in Artificial Intelligence, with decades of experience in programming for Fortune 100 and 500 companies, including Tesla and Esurance. Previously serving as Technical Lead at Tesla, Kawal was responsible for a team of developers at the forefront of the company’s A.I. integration. He has also launched several of his own companies as founding CTO. Kawal has written peer-reviewed papers in the AI-driven computer vision sector, developed crossover tradecraft between blockchain and A.I., and patented computer vision technology, including liveness verification and anti-spoofing.
Kawal has significant experience developing large-scale blockchain trading marketplaces and exchange backends for blockchain startup companies, including the award-winning marine logistics asset platform, Shipfinex. Launched in 2022, Shipfinex currently has more than $100m+ assets under management, scaling to $1b+ by the end of 2023. He has developed a robust, fully developed AI-driven facial recognition biometrics suite for verifying identity, including 100ms face match speed and 99.8% accuracy for all faces. This solution is added natively to the backend of applications, providing features like KYC/AML capabilities out of the box for companies and projects requiring robust and integrated due diligence solutions.
He has recent experience working within the U.S. Government, developing and implementing facial recognition biometrics and other AI-driven solutions, including voice identification technology for intelligence community product development.
Kawal leads on building and overseeing solutions for the logistics handoff on KaldiMarket, where A.I. will be helping optimize the data handoff of coffee harvests into shipping manifests for export, radically improving the efficiency of the international maritime drayage process. He is also responsible for KYC/AML facial recognition integration on KaldiMarket.
Stan Hammett
NFT and DeFi Integration Leadership, Kaldi Company Ltd
Stan has over a decade of corporate operations management experience for technology companies, including Apple and T-Mobile, and years of executive-level leadership as a technical software director for a specialist firm focusing on large-scale municipal solutions at a state level across the U.S.
He has worked alongside Daniel Ball for the past ten years, most recently launching NFT and DeFi integration and design company Wovven together as a founding CTO. Wovven enjoyed rapid growth in its first year of launch, becoming one of the top 5 NFT communities on the Fantom blockchain based on NFT collection sales, with several collections selling out in under 10 minutes. Stan is also the author of the first nested custom variable NFT generation script deployed to Ethereum, Fantom, Avalanche, Solana, and Polygon based on HashLips Art Engine.
Stan supports developing utility and broad usability for NFTs and regularly contributes to tradecraft documents for developing novel use cases.
Stan is using his expertise in NFT integration to work on the development of the KaldiMarket platform and core incentive protocols.
Michael Chuter
Non-Profit and Social Impact Leadership, KaldiMarket, Inc.
Michael is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and has spent much of his working life in the retail and consumer sectors. After a 30-year career, including senior positions at Gillette, Spillers, Hertz, and Arcadia, he moved into the not-for-profit sector.
Michael served as Chief Executive of Pump Aid, a multi-award-winning NGO working in the water and sanitation sector for eight years until 2022. During his tenure, working closely with Professor Stefan Allesch-Taylor (Pump Aid Chair 2010-2022), Pump Aid transformed from a traditional NGO into an innovative social impact business, creating economic opportunity and delivering sustainable access to water in one of the poorest countries of the world. Pump Aid’s pioneering business approach has seen it being awarded 'Charity of the Year 2017' (International Aid & Development) at The Charity Awards, the most prestigious awards scheme in the charity sector in the U.K., and again being recognized as 'Highly Commended' at the 2022 Awards for using entrepreneurship as a proven, powerful humanitarian tool.
Michael brings a wealth of commercial, financial, and strategic experience to Kaldi and seeks to harness the power of economic development to deliver positive and lasting social change. Michael’s role at Kaldi involves Impact Reporting and demonstrable Kaldi effectiveness.
Ashley Lopez
Head of Economic Integration
Ashley Lopez is a Chicago native with international business experience. She started in the coffee industry in 2012 with the Department of Coffee and Social Affairs, a standout coffee brand awarded as the U.K.'s Best Coffee Chain in both 2018 and 2019 by the European Coffee Symposium Awards. She rapidly rose through the ranks, moving to Chief Operating Officer in March 2013 and Chief Executive Officer in 2015. Ashley has over a decade of expertise in the international coffee sector, leading businesses in the U.K. and USA.
Ashley has worked on complex business models and strategies for start-ups over the last decade and oversaw over 19 corporate transactions of various sizes during this period, taking an entrepreneurial approach to business challenges in ‘blue sky’ scenarios. Ashley is the co-founder of Kaldi Gold.
In January 2016, Ashley was appointed a Trustee of the multi-award-winning water charity Pump Aid. Pump Aid has provided clean water to over 2.5 million of the poorest people in Sub-Saharan Africa by using entrepreneurship as a proven, powerful humanitarian tool. Ashley has worked with Professor Stefan Allesch-Taylor for over a decade and has worked alongside Stefan and Rachel Hillel on multiple standout and award-winning U.K. coffee specialty brands.
She holds a B.A. in Law from Winona State University, an MSc in Law & Finance from Queen Mary University, London, and an M.A. in Management from the University of Westminster, London. In July 2016, she was chosen as one of the U.K. business magazine Management Today's top 5 businesswomen in the U.K. under 35 years old.
As Head of Economic Integration, Ashley is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day Kaldi ecosystem combining both coffee and gold production economic strategy.
Kelly Fenemore
Chief Operating Officer, Kaldi Gold
Kelly is a global executive leader with over 25 years of experience across multiple industries, including equity and debt fundraising, sales, real estate, Fintech, Medtech, Agritech, technology, and gold procurement. Kelly has been instrumental in launching, connecting, and scaling pioneering and sustainable products and businesses across the USA, EU, Asia, and West Africa.
In the gold sector, Kelly has dedicated over 15 years to working with West African businesses, focusing primarily on Ghana. She has procured gold ranging from 2 to 25 kilos from small-scale gold miners and facilitated their sales to international buyers. Her hands-on experience in the field has provided her with a profound understanding of the challenges faced by both the small-scale artisanal miners and the buyers. This understanding has been critical in building trust and ensuring transparency in all transactions, which are vital principles in her work.
Kelly's longstanding relationships with local communities, NGOs, and government officials have enabled her to navigate the gold market by emphasizing ethical practices and mutual benefits for all parties involved. Her ability to bridge gaps between small-scale miners and global markets has not only bolstered the local economies but also ensured a reliable supply of gold for her clients.
Her work in West Africa has also included significant philanthropic efforts. In 2018 Kelly founded a charitable foundation in Ghana aimed at supporting small-scale female farmers, demonstrating her dedication to the sustainable development of the regions she operates in.
As the Chief Operating Officer of Kaldi Gold, Kelly is responsible for delivering the Company’s strategy.
Rachel Hillel
Chief Operating Officer, KaldiMarket
Rachel has spent 20+ years working at leadership level with consumer, retail, and entertainment brands in the U.K. and internationally, including Hotel Chocolat, Pret a Manger, and Tesco. Specializing in accelerating business growth through a deep understanding of consumer and market dynamics, Rachel uses this insight to define strategy, improve performance, and develop profitable, scalable business models.
In 2018, she joined Stefan Allesch-Taylor’s office, leading insight analysis, before joining the asset management team in 2020. Rachel has co-led strategy for a number of standout coffee brands in the U.K., culminating in a series of national and international awards for product quality and business recognition. Rachel has led coffee businesses before and through COVID, navigating a challenging consumer landscape. Rachel has expertise in sourcing, purchasing, and trading specialty green coffee at volume at an international level. She has a B.A. in Geography from Leeds University.
As Chief Operating Officer of KaldiMarket, Rachel is responsible for delivering the Company’s strategy.