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Management
Knowland Corporate Leadership
Our Managers
Michael McKean, CEO, New Product Development
David McKean, Client Relations
Jeff Haslow, Finance
Bill Cushard, Training and Development
Trevor D Zabel, Training and Development
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Michael K McKean, CEO, New Product Development
 Michael's
bio
Michael McKean founded the Knowland Group in 2004. He is directly responsible for
the company's strategic planning, operations management and product development.
His background in designing and implementing enterprise sized information systems
has given him a wealth of knowledge that has served him well as the lead visionary
behind the Knowland Group.
From 1995-2005, Michael gained exposure to a variety of business processes, working
environments and corporate cultures through his work in the field of information
systems. During this time he was employed as a software engineer and enterprise
systems architect on a number of projects. These engagements required a deep understanding
of how a variety of businesses conducted everything from consumer focused market
research to global portfolio securities trading to high volume call center operations.
Michael graduated from the University of Colorado and is currently enrolled in the
three year Owner/President Management (OPM) program at the Harvard Business School.
He is an active member in the Washington DC chapter of the Entrepreneur's Organization
(EO), currently serving on the board of directors as the forum chairman. A writer
and speaker, Michael has been featured in Businessweek and appeared on Fox Business
News and MSNBC. He is member of the editorial board of Hotel Business Review and
a columnist for numerous hospitality news sources. He is an avid skier and voracious
reader. He and his wife, Jennifer, have two children, Melanie and Thomas.
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David McKean, Client Relations
 David's
bio
David McKean has over 20 years experience in high level business development. Encompassing
media, software, and now the global hospitality industry, he has specialized in
large volume direct sales in a business to business environment. His business development
tenure started upon completion of his graduate studies as one of the first hires
at the Bethesda Maryland based Discovery Channel. There he quickly rose to work
on international sales and marketing projects, particularly in support of the company’s
networks in German speaking territories.
Following his tenure at the Discovery Channel he worked for a start up German /
American production company in a similar capacity to his days at Discovery, selling
large dollar volume accounts in the international, primarily European, market. In
2003, David transferred to Knowland’s parent company where he continued working
on large volume sales until the launch of the Knowland Group in 2004.
David lives in Northern Virginia with his wife Jane and their two children. There
he divides his time between his passion for the work of business development and
his love for coaching his son’s lacrosse team and cheering his daughter’s soccer
team. David has a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado and a Master’s
degree from the London School of Economics.
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Jeff Haslow, Finance
 Jeff's
bio
Jeff Haslow has over 20 years of financial experience at start-up and high-growth
companies. In 1987, Jeff received a bachelor's degree in Business and Biology from
Adrian College where he received the Wall Street Journal award for being one of
the nation's top business graduates. In 1988 he received an MBA from the Katz Graduate
School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh where he was awarded the Sisterston
Award for being the top finance and accounting graduate. He is a CPA and a member
of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Delaware Society of
CPAs.
Jeff was the Vice President of Human Resources, Administration & Finance when five
technology companies simultaneously merged to form eMotion, Inc. in 2000. eMotion
was a pioneer in the digital media management field and grew to include Coors International,
The Discovery Channel, ExxonMobile, McDonalds and ABC Television as its clients.
eMotion, Inc. was ranked 284 on the 2000 Deloitte and Touche Technology Fast 500
and was subsequently acquired by Corbis. The technology is now part of the Artesia-Open
text Digital Media Group.
Jeff performs with local arts organizations, writes a magazine column and volunteers
in his spare time.
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Bill Cushard, Training and Development
 Bill's
bio
Bill Cushard is a learning leader with more than 12 years experience in training and performance improvement at well-known companies like E*TRADE Financial, Accenture, and Time Warner Cable. In his leadership role at Knowland University, Bill focuses on helping clients get the most out of the products and services provided through a combination of guided and self-paced learning opportunities. He believes all learning experiences should be grounded in real-world application and designed to improve sales performance.
As Director of Learning and Development at E*TRADE Financial, Bill was responsible for leading and implementing training programs for an audience of nearly 2,000 financial services professionals. From 2006 to 2007, his training initiatives targeted employee knowledge and customer service skills with the goal of improving overall customer satisfaction. During that period, E*TRADE customers stated that their satisfaction with employee knowledge improved 31% and internal quality measures improved by 25%.
Bill has a bachelor’s degree in international business from the University of Denver, a Master of Business Administration from Pepperdine University, and he is currently working on his PhD in Education specializing in training & performance improvement. He enjoys skiing, fly-fishing, running, and playing monopoly at the dinner table with his wife, Kim, and children, Aaron and Elizabeth.
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Trevor D Zabel, Training and Development
 Trevor's bio
Trevor Zabel’s extensive experience in hotel sales technology training and development
enables him to provide clients with superior instruction and support. As a leader
at Knowland University, Trevor develops and delivers training and support for all
Knowland products and services, with a specific focus on Target Net.
Before coming to Knowland, Trevor spent more than 18 years working in the hospitality
industry. Most recently he was a corporate manager for The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company,
where he spent over five years overseeing sales technology training and development.
Before that he was a corporate trainer in charge of overseeing training and support
for the sales and catering software system at nearly 50 Ritz-Carlton properties.
Trevor received his Bachelor of Science in Recreation, Parks and Tourism with a
specialization in Hotel/Resort Management from the University of Florida. He is
a member of the American Society of Training & Development, the eLearning Guild,
and the American Management Association. He enjoys spending time with his high school
sweetheart Michelle, playing golf, fishing, and restoring old cars.
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