After serving as an Air Force officer during the Vietnam War, Kniffen joined ACF Industries in St. Louis, Missouri, a Fortune 300 Company at the time. After Carl Icahn acquired ACF in 1982, Kniffen became Assistant Treasurer of ACF reporting to the Treasurer of Icahn and Co. For two years, he did acquisitions and divestitures with Carl Icahn's organization. In 1984, Kniffen was responsible for issuing the largest junk bond ever issued at the time, $460 million with a yield of 16%. In 1985, Kniffen joined May Department Stores 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 $3 billion 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 US 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 spent 20 years as a senior executive at The May Department Stores, a company operating Lord & Taylor, Fox, Hecht's, May-Cohen's, Robinson's of Florida, Sibley's, Horne's, Kaufman's, Marshall Field's, Famous Barr, ZCMI, Goldwater's, May D&F, The Denver, Meier and Frank, Robinson's, Thalhimer's, May Company Cleveland, May Company California, May Company Akron, Strauss, Sycamore, Loehmann's, as well as developing, owning and operating 26 super regional shopping malls. Kniffen was also responsible for May's acquisition of Associated Dry Goods, Foley's, Filene's, Zion's Cooperative Mercantile Institution, Strawbridge's, and the divestitures of Venture, Caldor, and Payless ShoeSource, now Collective Brands. In 2005, Kniffen founded J. Rogers Kniffen WWE, "a New York-based equity research and financial management firm." J Rogers Kniffen WWE, is a firm that consults with long funds, mutual funds, hedge funds, and private equity firms as they make decisions regarding investments in retailers. In 2016, Kniffen launched 'RetailTalk with Jan,' a quarterly panel discussion featuring leading figures in retail and the retail real estate industry discussing retail trends, events in retailing, and the future of retailing. Kniffen is self-described as the "country's leading expert on retailing." Kniffen frequently points out that he stocked his first shelf in 1964, attended the grand opening of Walmart store number 26 in 1968 and the grand opening of the first Walmart SuperCenter in 1988, as proof of a lifelong dedication to what is happening in retail. Mr. Kniffen is a regular contributor to CNBC and is asked to give his perspective on the latest events in the retail industry on a weekly basis. On June 21, 2016 Mr, Kniffen was announced as Chairman of the Bruce Museum Board of Trustees. Marcato Capital Management LP, a San Francisco-based investment manager, managing funds that own approximately 6.1% of the outstanding common shares of Deckers Outdoor Corporation, announced that it had nominated Jan Rogers Kniffen and a slate of nine other qualified candidates, for election to the Deckers Board of Directors at the Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be held December 14, 2017.
