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Agenda & Speakers

Loyalty360 Awards Finalist Presentations: Loyalty Program Design

Thursday, May 22, 2025 - 10:15 AM - 11:15 AM
The finalists competing in the 2025 Loyalty360 Awards will share details of their programs and strategies in fast-paced presentations. These presentations give attendees a chance to hear first-hand from the brands that are delivering experiences that set them apart from the competition in creating loyal customers. 

As a part of the award process, all registered conference attendees are eligible to vote for platinum, gold, silver, bronze and honorable mention (if applicable) for each category. Winners will be announced during the Loyalty360 Awards ceremony. 

Category Description - Loyalty Program Design

At the core, the most successful loyalty programs are more than the sum of their features. While many programs feature similar granular mechanisms, it is how these features work in tandem that gives a program its identity and enables measurable, iterative growth. Finalists for this category will have demonstrated that their program does the little things to ensure that every piece of the loyalty puzzle works together to create a seamless, user-friendly, and effective initiative.

Speakers

John Sellers, Head of Rewards, Bank of America

John Sellers is the digital executive in charge of Rewards at BofA. In this role, John oversees all reward programs; including consumer, wealth management and small business relationship rewards programs and credit card rewards redemption. In 2022, Preferred Rewards was named ‘America’s Best Loyalty Program’ by Newsweek and ‘Best Bank Customer Loyalty Program’ by Motley Fool. 

Prior to his current role, John had worked with other products including; Vehicle Lending, Investments, and Credit Card.  While in Card, John was the Director of Preferred Products and New Account Acquisition where he was responsible for all mass affluent BofA and Merrill branded products. John is the architect of the award winning Travel Rewards Card and led the effort to bring Chip technology to BofA cards.

Before his product roles, John spent the first half of his career in Credit Risk, where he was the Director of Risk Strategies. In this role, John oversaw existing account management strategies which included; line management, balance stimulation (cash and retail), authorizations (overlimit and delinquent) and other payment related strategies.

John began his career with BofA via the MBNA acquisition. He has an undergraduate degree from the University of Delaware where he was a Finance major. He also has an MBA from Penn State’s Smeal College of Business where he graduated with distinction and is a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma academic honor society.

John is involved in several community organizations. He is a lifesaver for the Blood Bank of DE and coaches several youth sport teams in Kennett Square, PA where he resides with his wife and three kids.

Kelly Edwards, Senior Manager of Loyalty Program Strategy, Bath & Body Works

Kelly Edwards is the Senior Manager of Loyalty Program Strategy at Bath & Body Works, where she leads the strategic direction for a loyalty program with over 38 million active members, driving over 80% of company sales. She oversees the long-term roadmap and manages the full membership experience—including seasonal offers, events, and exclusive access to brand partnerships & experiences —while partnering with IT, Digital, and Product teams to deliver new capabilities across POS and e-commerce. Kelly’s team has achieved double-digit growth in the program since national launch in 2021 and delivered key initiatives such as a loyalty engine re-platform and the launch of member-exclusive in-app shopping. Prior to Bath & Body Works, Kelly led North American loyalty programs at Designer Brands and held consulting roles focused on customer engagement and experience design strategy.

Donald Baal, Senior Director of Fan Loyalty, NASCAR

Donald Baal brings over 20 years of motorsports experience to NASCAR where he currently manages NASCAR’s loyalty program – NASCAR Fan Rewards. Prior to leading Fan Rewards, Donald oversaw the NASCAR Data Strategy team, established in 2020 as part of the newly integrated NASCAR, to create a dedicated unit that focused on the strategic development of consumer data. In previous roles, Donald has lead digital marketing and managed the front-end of NASCAR’s digital platforms including NASCAR.com and the NASCAR Mobile app.    Prior to joining NASCAR, Donald spent 10 years at International Speedway Corporation working in ticket sales, travel, and email marketing.
 
Donald lives near Daytona Beach, FL with his three children.  They spend most of their time playing sports, at the beach, and boating.   

Jay Jhun, Sr. Director of Loyalty and Digital, Church's Texas Chicken

Jay joined Church’s Texas Chicken in June 2022 as Senior Director of Digital & Loyalty, where he has played a pivotal role in shaping and managing the brand’s inaugural loyalty program, Church's Real Rewards(TM). Under his leadership, the program has experienced tremendous growth, achieving nearly a million members in less than a year. Additionally, Jay has been at the forefront of the brand’s digital transformation, driving significant advancements in digital e-commerce and customer engagement.

Before Church’s, Jay served as the Director of Loyalty at GoTo Foods (formerly FOCUS Brands), where he led the integration, enablement, and support of the company’s loyalty platform across multiple brands, including McAlister’s Deli, Schlotzsky’s, Moe’s Southwest Grill, Auntie Anne’s, Cinnabon, Jamba, and Carvel. Earlier in his career, Jay developed omnichannel marketing strategies, provided consultative analysis and optimization for CRM programs across a wide roster of clients, including Chick-fil-A, Equifax, Aflac, Footsmart, UPS, Phillips 66, Zagat, SeaWorld, Southern Company, NAPA Auto Parts, and Mizuno.