Our History
Farm to Flame Energy was founded in 2018 by Will McKnight and Kwaku Jyamfi to commercialize a unique combustion process that was patented by Will's grandfather and uncle. This process allows several agricultural wastes to burn in a smokeless and odorless fashion. Stefano, Kwaku's colleague from Carnegie Mellon University, came on as CFO in 2020 . Through funding from Carnegie Mellon University, Syracuse University, and the United States Environmental Protection Agency, FTF commercialized their proprietary biomass electricity generators and home heating products.
FTF is providing affordable and renewable power to areas which lack it while becoming the best versions of ourselves.
Our Team
Will McKnight
Co-Founder, Advisor
Kwaku Jyamfi
Chief Executive Officer
Stefano Alva
Chief Financial Officer
Will McKnight
Co-Founder, Advisor
Kwaku Jyamfi
Chief Executive Officer
Kwaku Jyamfi
Chief Executive Officer
Karl Shaginaw
V.P. Of Engineering
Kwaku Jyamfi
Kwaku (KJ) Jyamfi is the co-founder and CEO of Farm to Flame Energy. He has been in the Chemical Engineering practice for over a decade honing experience in water treatment technologies, biofuel production and combustion analysis, and silicon membrane production.
He has led Farm to Flame Energy in closing $24.4MM in contracts, and over $3MM in funding from world class organizations including Cisco, the U.S. EPA, Bank of New York Mellon, and Georgia Pacific. KJ has led the team through production and roll out of the first commercial generator for Farm to Flame Energy, and evolved to sales expansion internationally
Karl Shaginaw
Karl has built Renewable Landfill Gas plants for Archaea Energy (purchased by B.P. for $4.1B in 2023). Karl managed RNG projects of over $400MM in CAPEX and $65MM in EBITDA.
He has also managed engineering and construction of pipeline, compression, gas dehydration, gathering and landslide remediation from concept to start-up as a Senior Project Manager for DT Midstream. He was responsible for $650MM in Capex
Karl oversees delivery and operation of FTF Heat and Power Plants, leading our teams through engineering, construction and commissioning of Farm to Flame Generators, in addition to coordinating maintenance with technicians
Susan Urua
Susan is a versatile professional with a background in engineering and extensive experience as an Executive m Assistant and Project Manager.
Her analytical mindset, honed through her engineering expertise, allows her to excel in optimizing business operations and providing high-level strategic support to executive leadership.
As an Upwork Top-Rated Plus professional, she is adept at managing complex calendars, streamlining workflows, and driving cross-functional collaboration across industries.
Susan integrates her technical proficiency with exceptional organizational and communication skills to enhance our productivity and operational efficiency. With a proactive approach and a commitment to excellence, she empowers FTF Energy to achieve strategic goals with precision and impact.
Carla Lam’s
Carla Lam is a CPA with over 24 years of experience in accounting and CFO service. She has worked with Big 4 audit firm and many major banks / Fortune 500 corporations.
She oversees Farm to Flame Energy’s financial statements and project modeling to ensure operational excellence.
Stan Fischer
Stan has successfully built, funded, and exited over $450MM in previous companies. Stan has taken his company, NetPlex to IPO. His companies have received funding from Kleiner Perkins, Bessemer Ventures, 3i Group and more. Stan has helped FTF close deals with Georgia Pacific, Capital Innovators, and Pharrell Williams.
Fred Lewis
Fred is responsible for start-up and operation of +4.5GW of combined heat and power (CHP) power plants ($13.5B in energy assets).
He has experience as an operations Manager at Wood Group, which owned and operated several Biomass CHP plants. He brings 35+ years of experience in the power generation industry.
Fred is responsible for operational excellence of FTF Energy CHP Plant construction, commissioning, and scheduled/unscheduled maintenance.
Joel Ifill
Joel is a welding engineer turned entrepreneur in the aerospace and defense field.
He has achieved $15MM in funding in for his airdrop start-up Dash Systems. He has also worked as CTO for Solideon, an additive manufacturing company with record breaking times for part assembly in the aerospace industry.
His familiarity with heavy equipment industry, and venture finance around it helps FTF Energy in investor relations.
Joel was formerly a welding Engineer for Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory.