Cliff Kling is Mission & Data Senior Executive Compensation and Leadership Strategist, and he leads the firm’s Executive and Organizational Compensation Practice.

Cliff served 24 years in two independent schools, most recently from 2018 - 2024 as President of Gulliver Preparatory School in Miami, Florida. Gulliver, the fifth largest NAIS member school, is one of the most complex and dynamic independent day schools in the country with 2,230 students hailing from nearly 50 different countries and 500 faculty and staff members. Previously, he served at Jackson Academy in Jackson, Mississippi, first as Chief Financial Officer and General Counsel and then as President. 

Cliff is an attorney and former CPA license holder, and he came to independent schools after a short career in public accounting and practicing law. A natural born advisor, Cliff thrives in complex situations and is at his best when delayering and unstacking problems. The transformational changes he shepherded at both Gulliver and Jackson Academy ground his compensation and leadership work with Mission & Data. At Jackson Academy, the school purchased land which doubled the size of its main campus, and Cliff directly oversaw $20 million of new construction and capital expansion. At Gulliver, Cliff led the efforts for a successful land-swap transaction with a neighboring church, making way for a comprehensive master plan. During his tenure, the school launched its first-ever capital campaign and completed over $150 million of new construction and capital projects.  

In addition to executive and faculty/staff compensation consulting, Cliff’s work with Mission & Data includes supporting leaders in their intentional cultivation of healthy organizations, defined by minimal internal politics and confusion, high morale, low turnover, and increased productivity and results.  Cliff is both a student and practitioner of organizational health and is heavily influenced by Pat Lencioni in this work. He has focused on organizational dynamics and improved culture in both schools where he served by building cohesive leadership teams, creating clarity, and communicating consistently. 

Cliff has a deep knowledge of best practices in governance and appreciation for the challenges and rewards of trusteeship. In addition to working for and with two boards, Cliff has served on the boards and in various governance leadership capacities for the Southern Association of Independent Schools (SAIS), MISBO, the Florida Council of Independent Schools (FCIS), and the Association of LD Schools. He has served numerous times as a team member and chair of visiting accreditation teams for SAIS and FCIS.

Cliff graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown University where he majored in accounting, and he finished second in his law school class, graduating summa cum laude from the University of Mississippi School of Law. He earned the CPA designation and practiced two years of public accounting with KPMG Peat Marwick before going to law school.  Following law school, he practiced with Mississippi’s largest law firm before joining Jackson Academy in 2000. He and his wife, Heather, have two daughters, Ainsley who is attending Florida State University and Alise who is in high school.