Our leadership team

Steve Fusco

Chief Executive Officer

Steve joined Rewards Network as President in 2018, and was appointed Chief Executive Officer in January, 2026. Under his leadership as President, Rewards Network tripled its active members by expanding its partner portfolio to include the largest brands and fastest-growing innovators in the U.S. loyalty space while doubling the number of restaurants in its network.

As a growth leader, Steve brings a strong background and deep experience in the fields of e-commerce, finance, banking, and technology, translating into the successful businesses he built at PayPal and before that, Citigroup. At PayPal, Steve served in a number of roles of increasing responsibility. Most recently, Steve served as Vice President and General Manager of Global Distribution in which he led a global team responsible for partnership with technology platforms and marketplaces. Prior to PayPal, Steve served in a variety of executive roles at Citigroup, in both the Credit Card and Retail Banking businesses.

A native of New York and graduate of Duke University and UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, Steve spent his early career in the Marine Corps and remains active in veteran’s causes. In 2014, he was recognized by the Silicon Valley Business Journal as one of Silicon Valley’s “40 under 40.”

Steve currently resides in Northern California with his wife and three children.

Dave Janek

Chief Financial Officer

Dave Janek is the chief financial officer of Rewards Network, responsible for all finance, accounting, planning, and analysis, as well as managing risk and overseeing the company’s merchant cash advance portfolio.

Dave brings 35 years of professional experience in accounting, finance, and general management to the Rewards Network team. Following his start in public accounting at Deloitte, Dave led many finance and accounting organizations at companies like Woodhead Industries, Broadwind Energy, and Federal Signal. He has also served as president of several businesses, driving growth and operating improvements. Dave was most recently CFO of VaaS International Holdings, where he facilitated a successful sale of the company to a strategic buyer.

Dave is a certified public accountant, has a bachelor’s degree in accountancy from the University of Illinois, and earned his MBA from Northwestern University’s J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management.

Liz Czaja

Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer and New Ventures

Liz Czaja is vice president, chief strategy officer, responsible for aligning Rewards Network’s corporate strategy with business objectives, leading priority initiatives, and enhancing overall communication efforts.

Liz comes to Rewards Network with over 20 years of experience working in the technology sector at companies of all sizes as well as in private equity and consulting. She has deep and long-running experience in two-sided B2B networks as well as in enterprise software at industry leaders such as PeopleSoft, Ariba, and PayPal. The majority of her career has been spent in leadership roles across strategy and corporate development where she has excelled at solving complex cross-functional business challenges.

A California native, Liz graduated magna cum laude from U.C. Davis with a Bachelor of Science in managerial economics and a minor in French. She received her MBA from Harvard Business School. She has held many roles within the local school communities and was on the board of a regenerative local farm. Liz recently relocated to Denver with her husband and two boys.

Jeanne Steinback

Chief Technology Officer

Jeanne Steinback is chief technology officer at Rewards Network and was instrumental in converting the company’s software development process to Agile in 2014.

With 17 years of experience building and managing lean, highly efficient software development teams, Jeanne’s focus is on constant improvement and speed to market through process engineering and automation. During her six-year tenure at Redbox, Jeanne managed her development teams through the apex of Redbox’s very rapid growth and changes in ownership, and served on the senior leadership team. Prior to that, Jeanne worked at Nightingale-Conant Publishing for eight years.

Jeanne employs a collaborative, team-centric management style with an entrepreneurial mind set, forming new Agile teams and converting existing teams to more efficient methodologies including Continuous Delivery, Agile (Kanban, Scrum, XP), and Lean processes.

Robert Kauffman

Chief Operating Officer

Robert Kauffman is Chief Operating Officer at Rewards Network, a role he assumed in 2026 after previously serving as head of legal and corporate secretary. Since joining Rewards Network in January 2019, Robert has been recognized as a cross-functional leader, trusted counsel, and culture change agent. Viewing himself as an essential partner to the various internal functional groups within the organization, Robert believes strongly that open communication with a legal advisor is an essential component to a successful venture: a legal department that is the “Department of NO” has fundamentally misunderstood its purpose within an organization.

A graduate of Tulane Law School and the Simon Business School at the University of Rochester, Robert’s legal and business career prior to joining Rewards Network focused on counseling and supporting entrepreneurs and small businesses – from formation to acquisition and everything in between. A former lecturer and mentor for the Urban League of Rochester, NY, and various area incubators and development programs, Robert is excited to continue his focus on entrepreneurship and technology as an 1871 Chicago mentor and information privacy instructor. A D&I advocate who is passionate about creating an engaging corporate culture, Robert is the proud executive sponsor of the RN Pride Alliance.

Mitchell Hipp

Senior Vice President – Sales

Mitchell Hipp is senior vice president of sales for Rewards Network’s responsible for driving growth across the sales organization. He manages increased merchant acquisition and retention, as well as recruitment of top sales talent, training and development of sales leaders, budgets, P&L performance management, and delivering exceptional support to the hospitality industry.

Prior to Rewards Network, Mitchell has had a long history of helping restaurants succeed and grow, focusing on marketing and financial support that allows restaurant owners to do what they do best. He was vice president of sales at Vector Solutions, as well as director of sales at LivingSocial, running their outside sales teams. Mitchell also launched the pilot program in their restaurant division for card-linked offers nationwide, opening major markets.

Above all, Mitchell believes that anything can be accomplished when a positive, fun work environment is paired with individual talent and effort.

Jill Armstrong

Head of Strategic Partnerships

Jill is focused on expanding the company’s market presence and driving revenue. Her deep expertise in card-linked and loyalty program ecosystems delivers partnerships that meaningfully impact Rewards Network’s strategic position and profitability.

Since joining Rewards Network in 2011, Jill has advanced through progressive leadership roles in partner and business development. A motivational and strategic leader, Jill drives strong partner relationships, new business opportunities, and measurable impact. She approaches every partnership with a cross-functional lens to ensure success from marketing launch and campaign design, through technology integration.

Jill has built a team known across the loyalty space for their long-term focus, unmatched technical skill, and deep understanding of the future of loyalty. Her leadership philosophy is grounded in empowerment and service; she prioritizes self-awareness, collaboration, and thoughtful negotiation as tools for resolving challenges and fostering shared success.

Jill grew up in Colorado and graduated from Colorado State where she developed her passion for the outdoors and her longing and appreciation of great food. Jill lives in the Chicagoland area with her husband and son.