Killian has dedicated most of his career to gift cards, working for several brands, and now successfully running his own business, RK Incentives, since 2001. He is active in the Incentive Gift Card Coalition (IGCC) and the IMA. Killian served on several IGCC committees, twice served as IGCC President and was active on the IMA Board. He is a frequent speaker and panelist at major industry conferences.
Killian’s volunteerism and support of industry colleagues align closely with the qualities exemplified by Karen Renk. “Rich is always willing to step up and volunteer - he also networks and helps others starting out in the industry,” says one nominator.
Karen Renk guided the IMA, championed the business case for incentives and mentored a wide group of individuals for the betterment of the industry and the association. She was known for several qualities including mentorship, character, collaboration, and professionalism. The Karen Renk Award is given to the IMA member who best exemplifies these qualities in service to the association, either through their work within the organization or through outreach to the community at large.
Killian remarked on this recognition, saying: “I am truly honored to be the 2023 recipient of the Karen Renk Award. Karen’s legacy in our industry will live on forever. Her professionalism, dedication and work ethic were off the charts! Her ability to unite people for one common goal was her true talent. I am honored to have worked with Karen on a number of initiatives over many years. I consider Karen a mentor, but most of all a friend. Thank you to IMA for what I consider my highest career accomplishment.”
Killian is the ninth recipient of the Karen Renk Award. Previous recipients:
- 2015 – Sean Roark, CPIM, PromoPros/IncentPros
- 2016 – Heidi Chatfield, CPIM, All Star Incentive Marketing
- 2017 – Brian Dunne, CPIM, Giftcard.Consulting
- 2018 – Michelle M. Smith, CPIM, CRP, speaker, author, strategist
- 2019 – Cindy Mielke, CPIM, Tango Card
- 2020 – Mike Donnelly, CPIM, Hinda Incentives
- 2021 – Barb Hendrickson, CPIM, Visible Communication, LLC
- 2022 – John Hanson, CPIM, RepLink/The DataDirect Group
View all of the IMA Summit Award winners on the IMA website.