Business director elected to Dudley Chamber

STOURBRIDGE College executive director Kim Babb has been elected on to the board of the Dudley Chamber of Commerce.

With a career spanning over 25 years, Babb has been instrumental in driving forward and expanding business for a variety of organisations in both the public and private sector, including the Learning & Skills Council, Connexions and private training providers.

At Stourbridge College she is responsible for delivering training, professional development and apprenticeships to employers through partnership working with local and national businesses.

She is familiar with the government’s strategic priorities in relation to business, skills and innovation and has forged excellent local and national partnerships.

She said: “My experience of driving forward business aligned to government policy will contribute enormously to meeting Chamber and Local Enterprise Partnership priorities. Building relationships is key to achieving success and, having run a business, I understand the challenges faced by SMEs in the current economic climate.”

Margaret Corneby, chief executive of Black Country Chamber of Commerce, said: “Kim’s knowledge of the local area twinned with her enthusiasm and drive for success will prove excellent attributes in her new role.”

Three new faces at CrowdControlHQ

BIRMINGHAM social media company CrowdControlHQ has appointed three new business development directors to cover the UK.

Shaun Fennings has more than 16 years’ of senior sales experience gained at global software companies such as Bloomberg, Reuters and London Stock Exchange.  Prior to this, he worked for global investment banks including Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, and Lehman Brothers.

Andrew Moore is  highly experienced in a range of sectors including information technology, marketing, advertising and banking. Previous companies include 490 Global, Cision UK and Deutsche Bank.

And David Grieve has spent the last 18 years providing business solutions to the public sector.

James Leavesley, CEO, CrowdControlHQ, said: “We are thrilled to have been able to recruit such talented individuals. Their experience will drive our business forward even faster and we look forward to them enriching our prestigious client list further.”

Click Travel appoints head of HR & Training

BUSINESS travel group Click Travel has named Katie Watts as head of HR & training in a newly created role as the firm’s employee headcount approaches 100.

Watts will be responsible for developing and leading all of the Birmingham firm’s HR and training activities.

Watts has more than ten years’ experience in human resources, most recently as HR and recruitment manager at Showsec International. Prior to this she held roles at Arqiva, the University of Birmingham and the University of Warwick.

She said: “Click interested me as it is a rapidly growing company with a solid history of growth. I wanted to work for an employer that genuinely cared about their customers and their people and would always be striving to improve their position and offering to both.”

Jill Palmer, operations director of Click Travel, said: “Our people are our greatest asset and we are committed to supporting this by developing our staff and putting employee engagement first.

“Katie’s first-hand experience in these areas makes her a great asset to the management team and supports our strategic objective to be the best company to work for in our industry.”