Jan Rogers Kniffen is a consultant to investors in retail companies and a former retail executive.

Early life

Born in Cairo, Illinois

Cairo, Illinois

Cairo is the southernmost city in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is the county seat of Alexander County. Cairo is located at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. The rivers converge at Fort Defiance State Park, an American Civil War fort that was commanded by General Ulysses S. Grant...

, Kniffen majored in English at the University of Illinois and received his B. S. in Journalism from Southern Illinois University

Southern Illinois University

Southern Illinois University is a state university system based in Carbondale, Illinois, in the Southern Illinois region of the state, with multiple campuses...

. Kniffen received his MBA in Finance from Lindenwood University

Lindenwood University

Lindenwood University, often referred to as Lindenwood or LU, is a private, coeducational, liberal arts university located in Saint Charles, Missouri, United States...

. Kniffen did his doctoral work in Finance at St. Louis University.

Business

After serving as an Air Force Officer during the Vietnam War

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

, Kniffen joined ACF Industries

American Car and Foundry Company

American Car and Foundry is a manufacturer of railroad rolling stock. One of its subsidiaries was once a manufacturer of motor coaches and trolley coaches under the brand names of ACF and ACF-Brill. Today ACF is known as ACF Industries LLC and is based in St. Charles, Missouri...

 in St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

, a Fortune 300 Company at the time. After Carl Icahn

Carl Icahn

Carl Celian Icahn is an American business magnate and investor.-Biography:Icahn was raised in Far Rockaway, Queens, New York City, where he attended Far Rockaway High School. His father was a cantor, his mother was a schoolteacher...

 acquired ACF in 1982, Kniffen became Assistant Treasurer of ACF reporting to the Treasurer of Icahn and Co. In 1984, Kniffen was responsible for issuing the largest junk bond ever issued at the time, $460 million with a yield of 16 2/3%.

In 1985, Kniffen joined May Department Stores

May Department Stores

The May Department Stores Company was a national department store chain in the United States, founded in 1877 by David May. The company ceased to exist in 2005 when it was merged with Federated Department Stores, Inc . Prior to the merger it was headquartered in Downtown St. Louis, Missouri...

 Company, became vice president and treasurer in 1986 and SVP Finance and Treasurer in 1991. Kniffen was responsible for Treasury, Tax, Risk Management, Investor Relations and Public relations, and managed the pension, profit sharing, and foundation portfolio; he also chartered and was president of the three May National Banks, and president of the Leadville and Snowdin insurance subsidiaries of May. Kniffen was named the best Investor Relations Officer in American Retailing by Institutional Investor Magazine in 1991 The following year Kniffen was named one of the three most responsive Investor Relations Officers in public companies in the U. S. In 1996 Kniffen surprised Wall Street with a $200 million, 30-year debt issue "to take advantage of recent retail sales momentum...to issue debt before rates go up," Kniffen was responsible for May's acquisition of Associated Dry Goods

Associated Dry Goods

Associated Dry Goods was a chain of department stores that merged with May Department Stores in 1986. It was founded in 1916 as an association of independent stores called American Dry Goods, based in New York City.-History:...

, Foley's

Foley's

Foley’s was a chain of department stores owned by May Department Stores and headquartered in Downtown Houston, Texas. As of August 30, 2005, the division was dissolved and operation of the stores was assumed by Federated's Macy's West and Macy's South divisions. Foley's operated stores in Texas,...

, Filene's

Filene's

Filene's was a Boston-based department store owned by Federated Department Stores , and May Department Stores . It operated throughout New England and in New York.-Early years:...

, Zion's Cooperative Mercantile Institution, Strawbridge's

Strawbridge's

Strawbridge's was a department store in the northeastern United States with stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. In its day a gracious urban emporium, the downtown Philadelphia flagship store added branch stores starting in the 1930s and together they enjoyed annual sales of over a...

, and the divestitures of Venture

Venture

Venture may refer to:* VENTURE NOTC, the Canadian Naval Officer Training Centre based in CFB Esquimalt, British ColumbiaIn automobiles:* Chevrolet Venture, a General Motors Corporation minivan.* VentureOne, a concept car by Venture Vehicles...

, Caldor

Caldor

Caldor was a chain of American discount department stores headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut, operating throughout the northeastern United States. At one time, the company was a subsidiary of May Department Stores; Caldor was among the country's largest discount retailers.Despite being a popular...

, and Payless ShoeSource

Payless ShoeSource

Payless ShoeSource is a discount footwear retailer founded in Topeka, Kansas in 1956 that is owned by Collective Brands, Inc. In 1961, it became a public company as the Volume Shoe Corporation which merged with the May Department Stores Company in 1979. In the 1980s, Payless was widely known in the...

, now Collective Brands.

In 2005, Kniffen founded J. Rogers Kniffen WWE, "a New York-based equity research and financial management firm."

External links

• http://www.jrkwwe.com