klosebuy advisory board

Jan Rogers Kniffen is a nationally recognized retail expert with decades of hands-on experience spanning finance, operations, real estate, and strategic advisory. He is widely known for connecting historical retail cycles with emerging trends to help retailers, investors, and REIT Boards make sound, forward-looking decisions grounded in practical execution. He is a frequent on-air contributor to CNBC for retail and retail real estate commentary and is often described as one of the country’s leading authorities on the sector.

As CEO of J Rogers Kniffen Worldwide, he advises institutional investors, private equity firms, and corporate boards on investments, operational improvement, and navigating structural shifts in the retail ecosystem. His guidance focuses on aligning financial assumptions with executable strategies in a rapidly evolving marketplace.

Kniffen’s expertise is rooted in more than twenty years as a senior executive at The May Department Stores Company, one of the largest department, discount and specialty store operators of its time. As SVP of Finance and Treasurer, he oversaw treasury operations, tax, investor relations, long-range planning, acquisitions, risk management, and multibillion-dollar asset portfolios. He also led May’s national banking and insurance subsidiaries. Earlier in his career, he worked on acquisitions and divestitures with Carl Icahn’s organization and participated in landmark financing transactions.

A lifelong participant in retail’s evolution, Kniffen began working in stores in the 1960s and witnessed key milestones including early Walmart expansions and the launch of the first SuperCenter. Today, he serves on advisory boards and consults with multiple retail technology startups while continuing to shape the future of the industry.

Board of Director – US Olympic Biathlon 

Hap is the former Global Chief Growth Officer of Merkle, a division of Dentsu, leading business development efforts across all vertical markets, across all geographies and overseeing the delivery of services and solutions to new and existing customers.

A seasoned marketing executive with more than 38 years of industry experience, Hap has led business, technology, and market-driven organizational change projects for Fortune 1000 clients across a broad spectrum of industries.

Hap joined Merkle (later Dentsu) from Accenture where he spent more than 33 years in a variety of senior-level positions. Most recently he was the Managing Director of Sales for North America. In this position he was responsible for directing the North American sales team to bring innovative business solutions to Accenture’s clients and accelerating the growth of Transformation sales throughout the firm. With his extensive outsourcing and new business start-up skills, Hap was responsible for developing Accenture’s capabilities, from setting strategic direction to delivering a full suite of services to a number of customers on a global scale.  He launched several new businesses for Accenture and was a member of the Board of Directors that launched the company’s Initial Public Offering.

Hap holds a B.A. in Mathematics and Economics from Dartmouth College. He currently directs several major scholarship funds for top female engineering students and sits on several boards.  He and his wife Susan live in Florida and Montana and travel often to keep up with their six children and growing number of grandchildren.

An energetic and results oriented leader with proven success in profitable and sustainable revenue growth for both established and startup businesses over a 32 year career. An exceptional C-Suite Executive focusing on long term relationships that create meaningful value exchange for multiple organizations in retail, financial institutions and travel & hospitality. A deep understanding of analytics using a very quantitate and measurable selling approach.

Mark McClellan is a seasoned leader in the franchise industry with executive experience, notably at Dunkin’ Brands and CKE Restaurants. He began his career in retail operations, working his way up from baker and unit manager to District Manager, where he honed his skills in understanding consumer behavior, unit economics, and operational excellence. His reputation for growth focused strategical leadership and operational precision was further established as he moved into Real Estate Development and Construction. There, he played a pivotal role in Dunkin’s growth, especially in the New York DMA, where his efforts drove annual store openings from 50 to more than 200 between 2001 and 2009. Under his guidance, Dunkin’ became the leading quick-service restaurant brand in New York City’s five boroughs in 2005.

McClellan later served as Senior Vice President of Development at CKE Restaurants (Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr.), where he built and led a team that revitalized both brands and transformed over 1,200 restaurants. Concluding his corporate tenure as Vice President of Development and Construction at Dunkin’, he oversaw the development of more than 4,000 locations, building high-performing teams and implementing scalable, profitable strategies for franchisees and the parent company.

In 2018, he founded US Franchise Consulting to provide strategic guidance to corporations and individuals entering or expanding in the franchise sector. He continues to advise entrepreneurs through consulting, board memberships, and partnerships, leveraging his extensive expertise to foster franchise development and success.

A strategic executive leader with over 40 years of experience driving innovation, growth and value creation at the intersection of technology, customer engagement, and marketplace ecosystems. Deeply versed in building and advising high-performing platforms that empower local businesses to connect meaningfully with consumers, enhance loyalty, and accelerate revenue.

Brings a track record of partnering with executive teams to refine product vision, scale go-to-market strategies, and optimize platform capabilities that address real-world business challenges. Recognized for strong operational leadership, P&L accountability, and the ability to translate market insights into sustainable growth.

Expertise includes client-centric strategy, loyalty and engagement solutions, incentive and motivation systems, commerce enablement, and driving adoption across diverse stakeholder groups in digital and community-focused environments.

Merchant and investment banking executive, Senior Manager in Big-4 public accounting firms, board director, founder, and early-stage investor in numerous startup companies, including initiating a corporate finance function within a $3.7B regional bank and leading over $600M in enterprise value investment banking transactions. Adept at executing difficult and creative transactions, identifying and deploying business growth strategies, performing due diligence, launching and growing startup companies and raising capital. Broad-based expertise includes strategic planning, risk assessment and mitigation, deal origination, restructuring, venture capital, M&A, private equity, valuation and asset management. Dedicated to building effective relationships and providing support to investors, executive teams, employees and boards of directors.

Cary Ichter is one of Georgia’s most accomplished commercial litigation attorneys, known for his courtroom skill, strategic thinking, and relentless advocacy. A founding partner of Ichter Davis LLC in Atlanta, he focuses on complex business disputes, trust and estate litigation, and high-stakes financial cases. Over a distinguished career spanning more than four decades, he has tried more than sixty jury trials and handled disputes involving billions of dollars.

Ichter’s path reflects determination and academic excellence. As a scholarship debater at the University of West Georgia, he was named Southern Debater of the Year.  He graduated magna cum laude from the University of Georgia School of Law, earning Order of the Coif honors and serving on the Georgia Law Review.

He began his legal career at the prestigious Powell Goldstein firm, quickly gaining courtroom experience representing major clients like Delta Air Lines and State Farm. Driven by an entrepreneurial spirit, he later founded multiple successful law firms that grew rapidly and handled complex national litigation. Ichter has served as lead counsel in landmark matters, including bond validation proceedings exceeding in the aggregate $20 billion that financed major economic development projects across Georgia.

Ichter is also a nationally recognized authority on the use of Special Masters in complex litigation, serving as President of the Academy of Court Appointed Neutrals and helping draft influential guidelines adopted by the American Bar Association. In 2025 he received the Tradition of Excellence Award, the top award presented annually by the Litigation Section of the Georgia State Bar. 

Frank Fennell is a recognized pioneer in customer loyalty, promotional marketing, and technology-driven consumer engagement. A distinguished graduate of Georgia State University, he began his career in the loyalty industry while studying under renowned author Dr. David Schwartz.

In 1992, Frank founded Fennell Promotions, building it into a nationally respected firm serving Fortune 500 brands including Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Dr Pepper, Colgate-Palmolive, Whirlpool, Nabisco, Kroger, Gibson Guitar, and hundreds of other companies. For more than two decades, he developed high-impact programs that helped organizations acquire customers, increase retention, and strengthen brand loyalty. The company was ultimately acquired by one of the nation’s largest loyalty firms.

Driven by a mission to make enterprise-grade marketing tools accessible to businesses of all sizes, Frank founded Klosebuy. Under his leadership, Klosebuy has evolved into an AI-enabled SaaS platform that combines digital marketing, customer acquisition, and closed-loop loyalty into a simple, affordable solution for local merchants and enterprises alike.

Frank is widely respected for his strategic vision, practical approach to growth, and commitment to strengthening local economies. In addition to his professional work, he actively supports philanthropic causes, particularly St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, where his contributions have earned national recognition.

A global airline executive, loyalty and coalition expert with 20+ years in Executive and Corporate Officer positions. Most recently he was the SVP Global Sales & Distribution with Etihad Airways based in the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi. Mr. Bureau has also held the position of President, Air Canada Rouge,  Air Canada VP Global Sales & Distribution, Malaysia Airlines, SVP Sales & Distribution, WestJet Airlines VP Sales, Cargo and WestJet Vacations, he also worked with LoyaltyOne where he was part of the launch team at US Loyalty which created one of the first coalition programs based in the United States. 

A member of numerous Boards and a global speaker on corporate culture, sales and business development, and the airline industry. Published Contributing Author “The Art of Sales” Dale Exton and friends 

University of Lethbridge – Accounting/Finance