IRR Industry Mourns the Passing of Veteran Rick Rubin at 55
The longtime gift card, incentives, rewards and recognition executive and former Incentive Marketing Association board member died suddenly Aug. 9 at age 55. A GoFundMe has been established to help his family.More Than 25 Years in the Gift Card and Rewards Business
An Active Member of the Industry Community
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The incentive, rewards and recognition community is mourning the loss of Richard “Rick” Harold Rubin, a 25-plus-year veteran of the gift card and rewards business who died Aug. 9, 2026, at the age of 55. No cause of death was disclosed.
Rubin is survived by his wife, Amanda, and their two daughters, Sienna and Sydnie, both in high school.
Rubin spent much of his career helping build and develop businesses in the rapidly evolving gift card, incentives and rewards marketplace. He also was a longtime member of the Incentive Marketing Association (IMA) and its Incentive Gift Card Council and served for five years on the IMA Board of Directors. The association remembered Rubin as a passionate and influential industry leader who contributed his expertise, energy and enthusiasm to both the organization and the business.
More Than 25 Years in the Gift Card and Rewards Business
Rubin had more than 25 years of involvement in B2B and B2C reward and incentive gift card solutions. His career encompassed sales, strategic partnerships, gift cards, digital rewards and incentive solutions for employers, customers and channel programs. Most recently, Rubin served as Vice President of Sales at iRewardify and previously was Vice President of Sales at Partnerships at Wolfe. Throughout his career, Rubin remained an active advocate for innovation in the gift card and rewards marketplace and for providing recipients with greater choice and flexibility.
That philosophy could be seen in one of Rubin’s recent LinkedIn posts, in which he addressed employee rewards and the importance of creating reward experiences relevant to today’s employees.
An Active Member of the Industry Community
Beyond his commercial career, Rubin devoted considerable time to the industry itself. The IMA says he was a longtime member of both the association and the Incentive Gift Card Council, served five years as an IMA director and participated in several committees. For an industry built heavily on relationships, Rubin was a familiar presence at conferences, association activities and on LinkedIn, where he remained an active participant in discussions about employee rewards, recognition, engagement, gift cards and the future of the business.
Rubin was born Aug. 21, 1970, and lived in Highlands Ranch, Colo. According to his Dignity Memorial obituary, funeral services were held Aug. 16 at Menorah Gardens & Funeral Chapels in Southwest Ranches, Fla.
The Incentive Marketing Association also has shared a GoFundMe established to provide support to Rubin’s family. Those wishing to help can contribute to the Rubin family GoFundMe here.
RRN extends its condolences to Rubin’s family, friends, colleagues and the many people throughout the incentive, gift card, rewards and recognition community who worked with him during his long career.
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